Notice Me
by stardust.breath
Summary: "I know that I'm not like the other kids at school. I'm not smart, pretty, athletic, or artistic. I'm none of those things. I'm just different and I can't seem to fit in anywhere I go. I'm just a shadow that blends into the background, always watching, never saying anything. But even shadows get noticed... Right?" Slightly AU.
1. Chapter 1

**I know a lot of people are probably mad that I haven't posted anything new for the rewrite or even the sequel for that matter, and you kinda have a right to be. Sorry about that; I'm going to try to get the inspiration back so I can finish the story for you guys. Pinky-promise.**

**I like writing Buttercup's character, but I figured I'd have her take on a different role than just her usual tough persona.**

**This story isn't related to my PPG vamp fic (_Hanging By a Thread_); this is all human, with the exception of the PPG and RRB since they're superhuman. So.. yeah. Hope you guys like it!**

**I don't own the Powerpuff Girls. Craig McCracken does.**

* * *

**.1.**

After another hard day at high school, all I wanted to do was come home, put my feet up, and relax. Friday nights were my nights to relax, kick back, and enjoy a movie at home or something. School wasn't fun for me; barely anyone noticed me and if they did, they made conversation brief so they could scurry away from me.

You'd think I was the plague or something with how people avoided me. I mean, yeah, I was a tough little kid growing up, but I'm not as mean as I might look.

The front door opened and in stepped Blossom, my older sister. She's the smartest girl in the school and she's also popular. A lot of people like her; she's got long, pretty red hair, intelligent pink eyes, and the clearest face you'd ever see on a teen. She's extremely nice, too; very charismatic. Probably why she was chosen to be the senior class president.

She looked exhausted. Shrugging off her backpack, she came over to sit next to me.

"Long day," she commented. I nodded.

Running her fingers through her hair, she asked, "Where's Bubbles?"

"Cheer practice," I replied. "She won't be home till 5. Said something about there being a little party; I wasn't really listening."

I didn't fail to notice the slight disapproving look she shot me, but Blossom said nothing in reply. She got up and headed into the kitchen.

Bubbles is the youngest out of all three of us. She's blonde, bubbly (like her name), and incredibly sweet.

Everyone loves Bubbles; she is the epitome of perfection. She has medium-length blonde hair that she always puts up into pigtails, sparkling blue eyes, and the body of a cheerleader. Every guy in Townsville High pines for her, desperate for just a 'hello' from her, but Bubbles never seems to notice. She's always too focused on cheer-leading, grades, and hanging out with Robin, who lived next door.

They were the best of friends; never did anything without each other. When Robin had to get braces, Bubbles begged the Professor for braces, too, even though her teeth are perfectly fine. I think she idolizes Robin because she's a normal girl with normal problems. As the infamous Powerpuff Girls, we don't exactly have normal problems and we're nowhere near normal.

Oh, but I'm rambling. In case you're wondering who I am, I'm Buttercup Utonium, aka the girl that no one notices.

Hard to believe, right? I was one hell of a fighter when I was five, but things changed for me when I entered middle school.

While Blossom and Bubbles had no problem finding groups to fit into, I found myself alone. No one wanted to hang out with me, talk to me, or even look at me. I went from being an admired (and feared) hero of elementary school to being a nobody in just one day.

High school was and is no different from middle school. No one wants anything to do with me. I don't know what I've said or done to offend people, but I've tried to change over the years. I've become a lot nicer, my temper has cooled down quite a lot, and I'm quiet. I don't bother anybody.

I know that I'm not like the other kids at school. I'm not smart, pretty, athletic, or artistic. I'm none of those things. I'm just different and I can't seem to fit in anywhere I go. I'm just a shadow that blends into the background, always watching, never saying anything. But even shadows get noticed... Right?


	2. Chapter 2

**What do you guys think about this story so far? I don't know how I feel about it.**

**I don't own the Powerpuff Girls.**

* * *

**.2.**

High school. The one place that people say will house the 'best years of your life', or however that saying goes.

As soon as Blossom parked the car, Bubbles bounded out of the car and towards a group of fellow cheer leaders. I watched, somewhat enviously, as she immediately joined the conversation with complete ease.

_What is it about Bubbles that draws people to her? I mean, yeah, she's pretty and she's extremely nice, but... I can be nice, too. I haven't gotten into a fight in years, unless you count the occasional monster that wanders into Townsville. But that's way different from school fights._

"Buttercup?"

I turned to see Blossom watching me, concern clear in her eyes.

"What?"

"Are you okay?"

I raised an eyebrow. "Why wouldn't I be?"

She hesitated. "Well... You've been awfully quiet lately. You don't really eat dinner with me, Bubbles, or the Professor anymore and you don't talk much. I was just wondering if everything was okay."

"I'm fine. No need to worry."

I could see she wanted to protest -Blossom knew that I was not acting like myself. She was very good at reading people, especially me, but even so, what was going on with me was none of her business. This was something I could and _would_ figure out by myself.

Right as she opened her mouth to reply, I grabbed my bag and got out of the car, shutting the door with a loud slam.

As I entered the school, my eyes roamed over the groups of people talking, laughing, and gossiping. Divas talking about makeup and celebrity gossip, nerds discussing video games, jocks talking about sports strategies, and goths leaning against the wall looking as gloomy as ever.

Walking down this hallway was never fun for me. No matter how bright my clothes were or how pissed off I looked, no one seemed to notice me.

It bugged the shit out of me. What was I doing to make people just not want to deal with me?

Was it my temper? No; I'd gotten a handle on that years ago.

Was it my face? I didn't think I looked _that_ bad.

Was it because I didn't get great grades? I tried to keep them up; Blossom tutored me whenever I needed extra help in a subject.

What was so wrong with me that no one even wanted to acknowledge my existence? I didn't understand.

Today was no different. Mondays were just the start of long, lonely weeks that were full of being ignored and being looked down upon.

When I finally made it to my first class of the day, the first bell rang. I took my seat and waited for everyone else to pile in.

One kid came in and, after taking one look at me, scurried to a desk that was far away from me, his head bent low so he didn't have to look at me.

Yup. Today was going to be another long day.

* * *

I was sitting in sixth period watching a documentary my teacher had put on for us to watch when the door burst open.

"Buttercup, we need to leave," Blossom huffed. "The Mayor called, let's go!"

All eyes immediately landed on me. With everyone's attention on me, I felt about two inches tall.

"Um... Can I help you guys?" I muttered.

A few people had the decency to turn around, but others just continued to stare at me like I was some sort of parasite.

Forcing myself to ignore them, I grabbed my bag and followed Blossom out of the school and into the parking lot.

Bubbles was bouncing up and down, a big grin on her face. She loved getting out of school early to fight crime.

"Okay, ladies, let's go!" Blossom called, and she took off with Bubbles. I threw my bag into our car before joining them.

As we flew through the sky, I remembered when we were kids. The world was so big and new to us; nothing seemed impossible and we didn't have any limits since, well, we could literally touch the sky.

But now, in high school, so many limits became visible. Maybe not for my sisters; they could do anything they wanted. Me, however?

Ugh. Don't even get me started.

"I see something," Bubbles said. "It looks like... Colors."

"Colors? You mean like if you tripped on acid or something?" I asked.

Bubbles shook her head. Suddenly, a car alarm began to go off.

"Let's close in," Blossom called, and we obliged, staying close together just in case this thing was dangerous.

A tall blonde boy stood next to an overturned car, his hand pressed on the dented metal. Judging by the way he was looking at the car with concern, he didn't want to be a part of this crime.

"Good going, little bro!" a male voice called. "Looks like I owe you twenty bucks."

Another boy, slightly taller than the blonde, stepped out from behind the car, a large bag hanging over his shoulder. He had wicked muscles that seemed to ripple when he moved. His dark, spiky hair shone in the sunlight, and his face was twisted into a cocky smirk.

Ah. Townsville Bank. So it was a robbery, eh?

"You can't be serious," Blossom said, stopping. "The Rowdyruffs are back in town?"

"We never left, babe."

The three of us turned to see a fiery-haired boy with a red cap on. He, too, had pretty nice muscles, but not as nice as the dark-haired boy.

Yeah, yeah, I know. They're our enemies and I shouldn't be noticing how good they look.

Eh, whatever.

"Brick, Boomer, and Butch," I said. "Long time no see."

"Long time indeed," Brick agreed. "How you ladies doin'?"

"Cut the small talk," Blossom snapped. "What do you think you're doing?"

"Don't worry your pretty little head about it, Pinky, we're just withdrawing some cash from the bank."

"'Withdrawing', huh? If you're just 'withdrawing' money, then why was the mayor alerted?"

Brick rolled his eyes. "Don't know, don't care. Wrap it up, boys, it's time to get out of here!"

"Girls, stop them!"

With that, Blossom launched herself at Brick. They were a mess of pink and red blurs as they fought.

Boomer looked up at Bubbles, hesitance in his expression, before he noticed Butch watching him. A mask of hatred covered his concern and he launched himself at Bubbles. As they fought, I noticed he was taking it easy on her.

Huh. He probably had a thing for her.

I hardly noticed that Butch had flown towards me until I felt his fist collide with my stomach. I wheezed, desperate to get air back into my lungs, when he punched again.

He laughed when I dropped a few feet in the air. "What's the matter, Cup? Can't take a punch anymore?"

I hated to admit it but no, I couldn't. Not anymore. My volcano of a temper had fallen dormant over the years due to me trying to be more nice and polite to people. I didn't have much of a fight in me anymore. Slowing monsters down, sure, that was easy to do, but my sisters had become better fighters than me over the years.

"I don't want to fight you," I said. "I'm not in the mood."

"Too bad. Let's rock, baby!"

He threw a few more punches that I managed to dodge, but I didn't expect his foot to swing around and collide with my side. I crashed into a building, my back hitting the brick wall hard. My vision went black for a second before I forced myself to get back up into the air. Butch watched me curiously, his arms folded over his chest.

"What's wrong with you? Why aren't you fighting back? You chicken or something?"

"Oh, shut up," I snapped. Still, though, I did nothing to fight him.

I know I'm supposed to be the tough one out of my sisters, but the fight left me long ago. I don't want to fight anyone anymore. If I'm just going to be ignored, why make trouble and why bother beating people up? Being nice has better rewards, like getting to see someone smile, though I don't really get rewarded for being nice. No one really cares about me; they just care whether or not they have to be in the same room as me.

Another punch and I was down on the ground. _Ow..._

"Brick, Boomer, let's get out of here!" Butch called. Boomer and Brick both landed final blows to my sisters and then they took off, Butch casting one last glance towards me before joining them.

Blossom looked like hell. Her bow had fallen out during the battle and she had a few bruises on her arms. Her hair was tangled and messy, and her makeup hadn't fared well either.

Bubbles looked better. A pigtail had fallen out and she had a small bruise on her forearm, but other than that she was fine.

"What the hell was _that_, Buttercup?" Blossom asked, furious. "Why didn't you fight Butch?"

"I... I don't know." Yeah, I did. I wasn't a fighter anymore. But I can't tell that to Blossom; she'll just lecture me on how I need to be more of a team player and hone my fighting skills and blah blah blah.

"Buttercup, we could have apprehended them, but you -"

"Blossom, maybe we should talk about this later," Bubbles suggested in a low voice. "We kind of have an audience."

Sure enough, citizens were beginning to watch us.

Blossom's jaw tightened and she gave a curt nod.

"Fine. But we're going to have a long talk when we get home, Buttercup. I mean it."


	3. Chapter 3

**To Lys Dis: Yes, there will be pairings. Reds, blues, and greens all the way :)**

**I don't own the Powerpuff Girls.**

* * *

**.3.**

"What were you _thinking_?" Blossom screamed. "We needed you on the battlefield and you were mentally absent! What on earth was going on in that head of yours, Buttercup?"

"I told you I was sorry!" I snapped. "I've been saying 'I'm sorry' ever since we left the school! What more do you want?!"

"I want an explanation!"

"Well, I don't have one!"

"Why were you holding back? We needed you out there!"

"For _what_?! You were doing fine on your own! You saw the black eye you gave Brick! You didn't need me!"

Bubbles stepped in me and my raging sister. "Listen, girls, maybe we should all just calm down-"

"Buttercup, what's going on with you?" Blossom asked. "You're not acting like yourself. You would never EVER let Butch beat the crap out of you without fighting back. What's going on, Buttercup? Why can't you talk to me? I'm your _sister_, for goodness' sake."

Her voice cracked on 'sake' and I noticed that tears were filling her eyes.

"You don't talk anymore, you barely have dinner with us anymore, and you always lock yourself away in our room when Bubbles and I go out to the mall. What exactly is going on with you?"

I opened my mouth to speak, then closed it. Telling Blossom my problems wouldn't solve anything. Like I said before, this was a problem I could solve by myself. If people hated me, my presence, and even the sound of my name, then I had to figure out why and I had to fix it all on my own.

"Nothing is going on, Blossom. I'm sorry that I wasn't helpful on the battlefield today; I'll do better next time."

She let out a sigh. "Buttercup -"

"Good night, Blossom, Bubbles. I'll see you guys in the morning."

With that, I headed upstairs to our room. Downstairs, I could hear Blossom saying something to Bubbles, but I couldn't quite make out her words.

The only good thing about sharing a room with my sisters was that we didn't have to share a bed anymore. When we all turned ten, he bought us our own separate beds.

I flopped down on my bed and let out a long breath.

_Why does Blossom care so much about what's going on?_ I thought. _She's got every right to be mad about me not fighting with Butch, but come on. No one cares about me, let alone my problems._

"Buttercup!"

_The Professor_. Of course Blossom would blab to him about what happened today. Not wanting to deal with my family, I opened one of the windows and flew out into the night. As soon as the cool October air hit me, I knew everything would be all right.

* * *

I headed to a local park that was abandoned years ago. Plopping down on one of the swing sets, I let my hands cup my face.

_I should have fought back today. The last thing I need is for Blossom to watch my every move and lecture me on being depressed. I should have pretended to be okay today. Why didn't I? What the hell is wrong with me?_

"I didn't take you for the type to sneak out. But then again, you _are_ the female version of me."

My head snapped up. Standing behind a tall oak tree was Butch. He was leaning against the trunk, arms folded.

"What's it to you?"

"What's up with you?"

I threw my hands up. "Holy shit, what is this, twenty questions?"

His lips rose in a half-smirk. "I just asked you one question, babe, chill out."

"Yeah, well, Blossom beat you to the punch with that particular question."

He shrugged. "Still. Doesn't hurt to ask."

"Butch, you're my enemy," I stated bluntly. "Why would you care if there's something 'up' with me or not?"

"Because usually when we fight, you don't just sit there and take it. You fight back."

I turned away from him. "I don't have to answer to you."

He sighed. "Look, Cup, I'm not here to argue. If you don't wanna talk, then we don't have to. I just came here to get away from my brothers for a bit."

I played with a black hair tie that was on my wrist. "You too, huh?"

Butch sat down on a swing next to me. He rested his elbows on his lap, leaning forward.

"Yeah, the little bro was taking it easy on your sister. Bubbly?"

"Bubbles," I corrected. "And yeah, even I could see that."

"Brick's not too happy about that. Lit right into him. I got tired of hearing them fight so I left."

"Oh."

He turned to face me. For the first time, I noticed how nice his facial features were. Full lips, sharp emerald eyes, sharp nose, soft black hair, black lip ring... I could mistake him for an air-headed pretty boy if I didn't know him.

"Why are you out here?"

I realized he'd asked the question and I managed a shrug.

"Sisters were getting on my nerves. So I left."

"Hm."

We sat in silence for a little while. A chilly breeze sifted through the park and I shivered. I hadn't thought to bring a jacket; that was stupid of me.

"Cold?"

I looked up. Butch was staring at me.

"Oh... Uh, n-no I'm alright. Thanks."

Butch sighed. "You're a pain in my ass, Cup. Here."

He shrugged off his leather jacket and tossed it to me. I just barely caught it.

"Thanks.." I mumbled, shrugging it on. It was warm and smelled just like Butch; musky, like all boys smell, and with a hint of cologne.

"Sure."

_Why is he being so nice?_ I thought. _Usually he would have initiated a fight by now. Is he trying to lure me into a false sense of security by being nice so that he could catch me off guard?_

"Cup?"

I turned. "Yeah?"

His eyes seemed to stare right through me. Even with my jeans, T-shirt, and his jacket, I suddenly felt naked under his piercing gaze.

"Look, I'm... I'm not good with being sensitive or whatever that crap is that Boomer talks about," he said. "But you don't seem like yourself and I'm just gonna say that if you need to talk, I'm here. Okay?"

"But why?"

"'Why' what?"

"Why are you being so nice to me?" I asked. "I mean.. We're the toughest fighters around and we're also enemies. So.. Why are you offering me your jacket and an ear to vent to?"

Butch burst out laughing. "Why wouldn't I? We were enemies when we were kids. I can't really call you my enemy when I don't know you."

I didn't expect a statement like that to come out of Butch's mouth. He wasn't known for being smart.

Maybe I'd misjudged him.

"Buttercup?"

Butch and I immediately looked up. Bubbles was flying around, the light blue streak behind her temporarily lighting up the sky.

"Buttercup, where are you?"

"I have to go," I mumbled. "Want your jacket back?"

"Nah, baby, keep it. I got another at home."

"Are you sure?"

"Yup. So... Wanna meet here again tomorrow night?"

The word 'sure' left my mouth before I could even process what I was agreeing to do.

Meeting a Rowdyruff in secret just to have a heartfelt talk about feelings? Geez, I'm turning into a major softie. I'm worse than Bubbles, no offense to the kid.

Just as I was about to meet up with Bubbles, Butch took my hand.

"One more thing?"

I met his eyes.

"You should smile more. You're not bad-looking, you know."


	4. Chapter 4

**Thanks for reviewing! :)**

**To MonstresorMari: LOL XD**

**To Lys Dis: Thanks! :)**

**To ROCuevas: thanks!**

**You guys think this is moving too fast? I know Butch is supposed to be crazy and violent, but I'd imagine he's a little bit of a teddy bear when it comes to Buttercup.**

**I don't own the Powerpuff Girls. I'm just a huge fan who enjoys writing fanfiction about them C:**

* * *

**.4.**

Butch's words kept echoing through my head like a mantra.

_"You're not bad-looking, you know."_

What did he mean by that? There's no way I'm pretty and no, I'm not one of those annoying girls who constantly fishes for compliments. I'm being serious. There is nothing about me that is appealing.

Short black hair, dull green eyes, pale skin; maybe Butch was just kidding. Messing with my mind.

He was a 'ruff, after all; he and his brothers never took anything seriously and attempted to destroy anything they could get their hands on. Maybe I was Butch's next big project to destroy.

The next day, I didn't get a lecture from Blossom or even the Professor. For a Tuesday morning, the house was quiet; the Professor probably had to go to work early and my sisters were probably eating breakfast.

When I went downstairs, I received a chipper 'hi!' from Bubbles and a half-hearted 'hey' from Blossom.

Once we were all finished getting ready, Blossom started up the car and began to drive us to school.

During the car ride, Blossom peeked at me through the rearview mirror a few times, as if checking to see if I was okay.

Of course I was okay; I just didn't like going to school, that's all. While I'm actually visible at home, no one in school knows who I am and even if they do, they don't want to deal with me.

A perfect example would be last year, when I took an art class.

* * *

"Okay, class, I'm going to take attendance. While I do that, I want you to set up for painting, okay?"

Everyone obliged. I placed my easel into a corner and dragged a stool over so I could put my paint tray on it while I worked.

When everyone began to paint where they left off yesterday, I started to fill my palette paper with dabs of paint.

The project was a self-portrait, and while a lot of people were trying to paint themselves realistically, a lot of other people made their eyes look like anime eyes or they gave themselves wings or something.

Since my favorite color was green and I had a soft spot for flowers, I decided to paint a flower crown on my head and make the background look like vines were coming up.

Throughout the entire period, kids sometimes took a break to look at other paintings. Most of the comments were positive and I hoped to God someone would notice my painting. I thought the flowers in the crown came out pretty nice but I wanted to know what other people thought.

Two other people had set up their easels next to mine and both of their portraits looked amazing. Kids would come by and comment on theirs, telling them they had talent and that they wished their portraits were like that, and then they'd look at my painting and just walk away, as if me and my easel were nothing but thin air.

Shrugging it off, I started to clean up so that I could get to the sink first and clean my hands. As I was walking to put my paints back into the paint bin, I noticed one kid dropped a paint tube.

Picking it up, I followed him and tapped his shoulder. He turned around, met my eyes, then looked down at the floor.

"Hey, um... You dropped this." I handed him the paint. He nodded.

"Oh.. Thanks."

I watched, slightly hurt, as he quickly tossed it into the paint bin and refused to look at me. He seemed to be looking at everything except me as he placed his canvas into the drying rack.

"Hey, uh... Did I -"

I didn't even get to finish my question. The guy took off to his seat and began to talk to some of his friends.

The only thought that came to mind was, _What on earth? Did I do something wrong, or..?_

* * *

Of course, junior year wasn't the start of this 'silent treatment'. Middle school is where it really began, but for some reason it carried over to high school. I admit, I'm kind of scared that college will be the same.

Nothing particularly special happened in school today. Time moved slowly and I found myself wondering why Butch wanted to meet me again tonight.

What was he thinking? Did he have ulterior motives, or did he genuinely want to talk to me?

If it was the latter, then why? Why talk to the most ignored girl in Townsville?

That night, I snuck out when I was sure my sisters were fast asleep. I didn't want them to worry about my whereabouts; I shoved a pillow under my sheets so that they'd think I was still asleep in my bed just in case they woke up.

I brought Butch's jacket with me, as it was much warmer than my other jackets, and sat down on the same exact swing I sat on last night.

I must have waited for hours and hours. Just when I was getting up to leave, a pair of warm hands gripped my shoulders.

"Boo."

I shrieked and went to elbow whoever was behind me when I heard the person laugh.

Butch.

"Don't do that!" I hissed. "It's not funny!"

"It's _hilarious_, babe. You gotta admit, I scared you good!"

"Yeah, yeah, real funny," I grumbled. "You're late."

His laughter died down and he wiped a tear from his eye.

"Sorry about that. I had to give my brothers the slip; they think I'm out stealing food or whatever I told them I'd be doing."

"Oh."

"Yup. So, what's up?"

"Nothing."

"Still in a mood, huh?"

I eyed him. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Butch kicked at a pebble, his thumbs hooking into his jean pockets.

"You've cooled down a lot, Cup. Why is that?"

I shrugged. "I have my reasons."

"Care to share?"

"I still don't trust you."

He sighed. "I wish you did. I might not be good at giving advice like my little brother, but it's not too often I lend my ear to someone."

"How do I know you're not just going to take the information and use it against me?" I asked. "How do I know that you're not playing games with me?"

He snorted. "Babe, if I was playing games, you'd know it. If I wanted to mess with you, I wouldn't have given you my favorite jacket."

_His favorite jacket? Wow... He's gotta be serious if that's the case._

"How do you even see me?"

Butch stared at me, a dumb expression on his face. "Huh?"

I swung my feet back and forth, the bottoms of my sneakers scuffing the ground a few times.

"You heard me."

"Yeah, and I swear I heard wrong."

"How do you see me?" I repeated. "I'm invisible to everyone. No one ever notices me and if they do, they want nothing to do with me. So what's your deal, Butch? How do you see me and why aren't you running away from me?"

Butch's mouth fell open. "Are you serious? But you're Buttercup; how could people ignore you? You're supposed to be the rough-and-tumble girl of the 'puffs. How on earth do people _not_ notice you?"

I shrugged. I'd been trying to figure that out myself for years but so far, I hadn't come up with any answers.

"You mean to tell me you're alone when you're in school? No friends?"

"Not really, no. I'm a loser, Butch. I don't know what I've done wrong, but people just avoid me like the plague. No one wants to talk to me much less even look at me."

I didn't realize my eyes were watering until I felt something warm and wet dribble down my cheek.

For years, I'd kept all this to myself; the realization that no one liked me no matter what I did, the fact that I was invisible, that no one ever noticed me. Now that I was actually speaking it, it really hit me that I was alone.

Yeah, I had my sisters, but they were my _sisters_. They couldn't just ignore me; we shared a room together and the Professor would be unhappy if he saw we weren't getting along.

Butch crouched down in front of me so that we were eye-level with each other.

"Do your sisters ignore you, too?"

"No," I replied, wiping at my eyes with the back of my sleeve. "They're the only ones I've got. They're the only ones who treat me like a human being. Everyone else just ignores me, and I don't know why. I've tried to change, Butch; I stopped letting my temper overrule me, I tried to be nicer to everyone, and I even tried to join some clubs so that I'd gain some friends. But no one wants to deal with me. No matter how hard I try, no one wants to look at me or acknowledge me. What am I doing wrong?"

Butch reached up to brush a few strands of hair out of my face. "Doesn't sound like you're doing anything wrong, Cup, just sounds like your school is full of self-centered assholes who are only concerned with their own lives. Don't take it personally; sometimes the kids at Citysville are like that, too."

That surprised me. "You go to school?"

He rolled his eyes. "Unfortunately, yeah. Mojo wanted me and my brothers to have an education, so he signed us up for Citysville High since, well, we probably wouldn't be accepted into the Townsville school system for obvious reasons. I hate it there, man. Everyone there is self-centered and only care about the things that might take them up a notch in the popularity ladder. It's ridiculous; I've never seen anything like it."

At least I wasn't the only one who was repulsed by the world of high school.

"Do people at least notice you?" I asked.

He laughed. "No, but that's because I don't _want_ to be noticed. I don't give a damn what people think of me; as long as my brothers aren't getting beat up, I don't really care what happens at that school. I'm only there to get my diploma and get out."

Hearing Butch talk like this, so relaxed and like we'd been friends for years, made me feel warm inside. For the first time in years, I felt like I had an actual friend to talk to. It was a nice feeling.

"Even though you're supposed to be my enemy, I'm glad that we're talking," I whispered. "You don't know how much it sucks to be a loser."

Butch shook his head. "You're not a loser, Buttercup, and anyone who says otherwise is just saying that to mess with your head. You gotta be stronger than them and you gotta believe in yourself, because if you don't believe in yourself, no one else will."

_Holy shit, he's a hell of a lot smarter than I thought. He almost sounds like Blossom._

"Here, I have an idea," he said, standing up. "Why don't we go out on the town on Friday? You and me; not as enemies, but as friends. I'm pretty sure Brick would have my head and, well, your sister might not be happy if she found out, but I think it'd be good for both of us to get away from everything for a few hours, even if it meant getting lectured to death by our siblings afterwards. Whaddya say, Cup?"

For the first time in years, I felt myself smile.

"Sounds good, Butch. Let me know what time and where to meet you, and I'll be there."


	5. Chapter 5

**** Just a friendly warning, this chapter gets slightly dark towards the end, when we get a glimpse into Buttercup's thoughts. And I just want to say that in no way, shape, or form do I encourage suicide or suicidal thoughts or depression. As a person who has suffered from depression for years, if there is anyone out there who does have serious depression or suicidal thoughts, I would strongly suggest getting help. Suicide is not worth it and if you can beat depression (and you will), it DOES get better! I promise. There's nothing wrong with seeking out help. Just wanted to put to put this out there because I don't want anyone thinking I encourage suicidal thoughts or depression, because I DON'T. ****

**To B-Gal2000: Thank you for your review. While I appreciate your suggestions, I already have plans for where this story is going to go, but I do want to thank you for putting those ideas on the table anyway. I hope you continue to enjoy this story :)**

**To Guest: I will, I promise! I'm going to start looking it over and I'm going to try to write more for it soon.**

**To Espoir: Thanks! :D**

**To Rainbow Bullet: Thanks! :)**

**I don't own the Powerpuff Girls.**

* * *

**.5.**

You would think that Friday would be a good day for me.

Don't get me wrong, I was pretty excited; I wanted so badly to see what Butch had in store for us. Were we going to hit up the arcade? Watch a movie? Were we going to eat dinner somewhere? The anticipation was _killing_ me!

But besides being really excited, the day started off pretty rough for me.

For all you girls out there, do you ever have those days where you wake up and you just can't seem to find something to wear? You go through outfit after outfit and still find yourself unsatisfied with what you're wearing?

Well, I was having one of those days.

My hair wasn't cooperating with me, either. Sure, it was short and just barely reached the top of my shoulders, but my bangs wouldn't stay out of my face. I wasn't really planning on wearing anything in my hair, but I finally just got frustrated and pinned my bangs back with bobby pins.

To add more fuel to my bad mood, all throughout the day, I noticed how the other girls around me dressed. To say I was jealous and feeling a little insecure was an understatement.

I know it probably sounds stupid; you're probably thinking 'who cares how they dress?' and you're probably right. But I can't really explain it.. I feel like an alien compared to the other people in this school. No matter what I wear, how I style my hair, how smart I am, or how friendly I am, I just don't fit in. I stick out like a sore thumb.

All of the other girls had beautiful, naturally straight hair and cool outfits. Frilly skirts, slim jeans, shorts, crop tops, camisoles, figure-fitting T-shirts, cardigans, sweet-smelling perfume, expertly-applied makeup, designer bags, and confidence in their every step.

I found myself looking at these girls and wondering what it was that made them appear so cool. Was it their outfits? Confidence? The designer bags?

What did I lack to make me such an awkward loser next to them?

Looking down at my plain jeans, green sweater, and black Converse, I wondered if maybe I should ask the Professor if I could go clothes shopping soon. Maybe new clothes would give me new confidence?

As the school day began to draw to a close, I found myself dreading nightfall. I found myself questioning Butch's motives; why on earth would he want to hang out with an awkward girl like me when he could easily ask out another girl, one who was prettier, more confident, and charming? Why not ask out someone like Bubbles or Blossom? Why _me_?

During the car ride home, Bubbles chattered incessantly about cheer practice and how excited she was for the first football game of the school year. Blossom just nodded the whole way, occasionally adding to the conversation.

When we arrived at home, Bubbles bounded out of the car and into the house. I was just about to follow when the car doors locked.

I looked up to see Blossom staring at me through the rearview mirror.

"Dude, not cool. Let me out," I said. All I wanted was to go upstairs and relax for a little while before going to hang out with Butch.

She sighed. "Look, Buttercup, I know you're not the type to talk about things that are bothering you, but I just want you to know that if you ever need someone, I'm always here."

I nodded. "I appreciate that."

Blossom opened her mouth, then closed it. She unlocked the car, running her fingers through her hair.

I felt she deserved more than just an 'I appreciate that', so before I got out of the car, I said, "I appreciate that you want to be there for me, Bloss, I really do. But this is something I need to figure out myself."

"Just promise me that if you find you can't figure out whatever it is, that you get the help you need? There's nothing wrong with asking for help every now and again, and if you don't want to talk to me, there's always Bubbles or the Professor. You could even talk to Ms. Bellum."

"I promise I will. But... Relax, okay? I'm fine and you don't have to worry about me."

Blossom laughed softly. "I _always_ worry about you, Buttercup, both you and Bubbles. You guys are my sisters and if I see that one of you is unhappy, I want to help you in any way I can. Anyway, I just wanted to tell you that I'm all ears if you ever want to talk and whatever we talk about will stay strictly between us."

I smiled, genuinely appreciative of Blossom's words. "Thank you."

When I finally got up to our room, I sat down on my bed and rubbed my eyes.

It was nice of Blossom to offer to listen to my problems, and I might just take her up on her offer, but if I didn't solve my problems myself, then I'd feel like a failure. If I couldn't solve my own problems, how would I make it in the real world?

I thought back to when I was a kid. I always thought I'd turn out to be a strong girl, a tough beauty who every girl admired and every guy wanted to hang out with. The type of girl who didn't take shit from anyone and could solve her own problems in the blink of an eye. Obviously things didn't turn out the way I'd expected.

_I'm nothing more than a depressed, awkward, ugly kid who's nothing more than a shadow next to her bright, vibrant sisters._

* * *

By the time ten o'clock rolled around, my depressing thoughts had eased up.

I hated having depression; whenever I was alone, depressing thoughts would creep into my mind and assassinate any joyful things I was thinking about and completely overrun my brain. A cycle of bad thoughts would spin mercilessly through my head, thoughts of how I would never have a future, how I was too stupid and awkward for any guy to want me, how I would never be as pretty as the other girls, that I should just give it up and kill myself already.

Did I mention how dark my depression can get? No? Well, it gets pretty dark.

I waited at the park for Butch, who arrived mere minutes after I had.

"Ready to have fun?" he asked, a big grin on his handsome features.

I nodded. After today, I wanted nothing more than to let loose.

"Then let's go!"

And with that, Butch took my hand and we began to fly towards Citysville.


	6. Chapter 6

**To kittie862: I'm glad you're enjoying the story, but I'm sorry that you can relate :( Being a shadow in high school (or any place for that matter), being ignored, or dealing with depression is not fun. Don't worry, I plan on seeing this story through to the end and I will try to update at least every other day. Thanks for reviewing and I hope Buttercup's story will at least make you smile :)**

**To MercuryBlack: thanks! :D**

**To Espoir: Glad you like it :)**

**I don't own the Powerpuff Girls.**

* * *

**.6.**

"Where are we going?" I asked. Cold wind lashed at our faces as we flew, the brightly-lit buildings in Citysville nearly blinding me.

"It's a surprise," Butch called. "Just sit tight, we're almost there."

We flew towards a small building with dimly lit signs in the front windows. Upon landing on the sidewalk, Butch gave my hand a squeeze and grinned.

"Ready?"

Not really. I was kind of nervous, but if Butch was going to be with me, then I guess everything would be okay.

"Sure."

With that, we entered the building. The interior was very small; in the corner sat a bar counter with leather stools and a bored-looking bartender. A few men were sitting on the couch in the lounge section, their eyes glued to the football game that was blaring on the television.

A few couples were sitting in booths eating dinner, some laughing and looking like they'd never had a better time in their life; others looked like they couldn't be bothered to spend time with their dates.

"We're at a bar?" I asked. "But.. We're not twenty-one. We can't drink."

_Oh God,_ I thought, biting the inside of my cheek. _I sound like Blossom._

Butch's grin grew wider. "Who said we were going to drink?"

He started walking towards the bartender, who mumbled a lazy 'good evening' as soon as he caught sight of us.

"Cobbler," Butch said, and the bartender smiled.

He motioned for us to follow him. I shot a curious glance at Butch, but he either didn't notice or he ignored me.

We went behind the bar and followed the bartender through a door I hadn't seen, and that door opened to reveal a long hallway. Butch and I followed the bartender down the hall, down a few stairs, and watched as he knocked on the door.

"Password?" a raspy voice asked.

"Peaches 'n' cream," Butch replied. There was a clicking sound and the door opened.

"Have fun, kids," the bartender said as he began to head back to the bar. Butch smiled at me.

"Don't mind him. He's usually pretty cool, but it's a slow night."

"You know him?" I asked.

He shrugged. "I come here a lot. Anyway, come on; there's always a party going on here and I think you'll have fun."

Before I could say anything more, Butch pulled me into the room.

Well, 'room' would be an understatement. The whole place was as big as the Morbucks' mansion.

Multicolored strobe lights swam over the crowds of people dancing near the stage. A DJ was playing and mixing pop songs, occasionally giving a shout out to different radio stations. Couples sat at tables scattered about, talking and laughing as they sipped bright-colored drinks. The whole place was packed with people, but not so packed that Butch and I couldn't move about.

"Yo, Ace! Two hot sundaes on the double!" Butch yelled.

At the bar stood Ace, the leader of the Gangreen Gang. I hadn't seen him in years; he looked like he'd gotten his act together pretty well. His hair was slicked back and he looked like he was healthy, as he was no longer scrawny but muscular. As always, he wore a pair of sunglasses.

The years had been good to him.

He gave Butch a thumbs-up and immediately got to work. Butch pulled me over to one of the few empty tables and we both sat down.

The entire place was pulsing with music, whoops, and shouts. The people on the dance floor moved in sync with each other like one big sea of people, all moving together to form one big wave. It was cool to watch.

"So," Butch said. "What do you think?"

"This place is pretty cool," I replied. "What's it called?"

"Ace's Place."

My eyes widened. "You mean Ace _owns_ this place?!"

Butch laughed. "Well, yeah. He quit being a criminal years ago and managed to fix this place up. You and your sisters used to scare him, you know?"

Scare him?

"What do you mean?"

"Remember when you and your sisters were kids and you used to beat up the Gangreen Gang when they caused trouble?"

I nodded.

"Well, Ace over there got tired of being beat up and got bored of crime. He left Townsville with the boys and they found this place. They bought it, fixed it up, and now it's the most popular night club in Citysville."

"Oh," was all I could say. I had never expected Ace, the leader of the Gangreen Gang, to quit crime only to end up becoming a successful club owner.

"Where are the other guys?" I asked. "Do they work here?"

He leaned back into his chair. "Yup. Big Billy and Lil' Arturo work as bouncers outside, Snake is a DJ but today he's off, Ace is a bartender and can make the best ice cream sundaes you've ever had, and Grubber is a cook in the back. He makes really good food."

Before I could reply, two big bowls of ice cream heaped with whipped cream, hot chocolate sauce, a few cherries, and sprinkles were placed in front of us.

"Here ya go, Butch, enjoy!"

I turned to see Ace. He lowered his sunglasses and gave me a once-over.

"Buttercup? Is that you?"

I nodded and gave a shy smile. "Hi."

Ace looked nervous. "Ah, h-hi. What are you d-doing here?"

Butch waved a hand. "It's okay, Ace, we're just here to hang out."

"Yeah, I won't cause any harm. I promise," I assured him. Ace nodded slowly.

"Well, I hope you two enjoy. I'll be at the bar if you two need anything."

The way Ace speed-walked away reminded me of school. People always seemed to be running away from me, like I was a deadly disease they didn't want to catch.

I could feel my depression creeping up on me again, but I forced the bad thoughts away.

_Not now,_ I thought bitterly. _I'm supposed to be having a good time with Butch, not thinking about how much I hate myself._

Butch dipped a spoon into his ice cream and started to eat.

Hesitantly, I scooped up a big chunk of vanilla ice cream heaped with chocolate sauce and lifted it to my mouth. An explosion of flavor hit my tongue and I smiled.

"Wow! It's amazing."

Butch grinned. "Told ya."

As we ate, we made small talk about school. I learned that Butch kept his grades at satisfactory B's while his brothers strived for A's. I told him about my grades and how I hated a few of my classes.

Well, truth be told, I hated my _entire_ schedule, not just a few of my classes. Every single class was full of people who ignored me and treated me like a freak, something I didn't exactly enjoy. But Butch didn't need to know that.

We were here to have fun, not dwell on the fact that my life sucks.

When we were finished, our bowls and spoons were collected and carried away. Our stomachs full to bursting, Butch and I leaned back in our chairs and watched the crowds of people dance. I was surprised to find that people weren't dirty dancing (dirty as in _dirty_, if you catch my drift), but simply moving to the music. Lots of people were jumping to the music, fists pumping enthusiastically.

Soon I couldn't stand just watching anymore.

"Wanna dance?" Butch asked, standing up. I smiled.

"You took the words right out of my mouth."

And with that, we danced the night away.

* * *

"I didn't think you could dance for that long," Butch laughed. "You're pretty good. Where'd you learn to dance like that?"

I smiled. "Bubbles has dragged me to every single Homecoming dance my school has had. You learn a few moves when you watch other people do the same things over and over again."

Butch clapped a hand on my shoulder. "Well, you're pretty good."

The sky was just beginning to show signs of morning. The stars were slowly fading away, streaks of orange, purple, and red stretching across the sky and through the billowy clouds. We had stayed out all night; I was pretty tired from all the dancing we'd done.

"Thanks for inviting me out," I said. "It was fun."

Butch hooked his thumbs in his pockets, a genuine smile on his face. "Sure, babe, thanks for coming with me. Wanna do it again soon?"

"You bet!"

We were quiet for a few moments. Just as Butch was turning around, I grabbed his wrist.

"Thanks for being nice to me," I blurted. "I'm not trying to be corny or anything when I say it, but I really am grateful. Not too many people are nice to me and you have no idea how nice it is to finally have someone treat me like I exist. So.. Thanks."

Surprise flickered across Butch's features and he opened his mouth to reply, but I had already taken off.

Of all the people in the world, I never expected the toughest of the Rowdyruff Boys to be nice to me.


	7. Chapter 7

**Buttercup rambles in this chapter. So... Yeah. Hope you enjoy!**

**I don't own the Powerpuff Girls.**

* * *

**.7.**

The next day, there was nothing for me to do. It was a chilly Saturday morning, hints of frost peeking through blades of grass.

Blossom and Bubbles had gone to the mall with Robin to shop for dresses to wear to the Homecoming dance and the Professor was giving a lecture at a local community college. I had the house all to myself.

I was exhausted from dancing so much last night. When I got home, I wanted to curl up in my bed and fall asleep, but by the time I'd stepped into my room, Blossom's alarm was going off.

Yes, she even sets her alarm on Saturday mornings. That's Blossom for you.

Now that I was by myself, I decided a nap was in order. I curled up on my bed and stared at the wall across from me.

Going out last night with Butch made me feel... Normal. Anytime I'm in class with popular people, I always hear them talk about how they went out with their friends over the weekend or how they couldn't wait to make plans to go out. I always wonder what it's like to be able to go out without feeling nervous or wondering what other people think of you.

What would it be like to be popular? Would you wake up in the morning, look at yourself in the mirror, and think that you look great? Would you go to school feeling excited that the day is starting, rather than dreading walking through those front doors?

Would you be surrounded by people who are fake or people who are genuine?

What kind of clothes would you wear? Regular sweaters, jeans, and sneakers from Kohl's? Or would you be daring and wear something dark and sexy from Hot Topic? Maybe you'd be more artsy and go for the nice skirts, crop tops, and cardigans from Forever 21.

To be on the popular end of the spectrum must be the best thing in the whole world. You've got that world eating out of the palm of your hand and you can do whatever you want. Teachers, coaches, people, even complete strangers love you and worship you.

To be on my end of the spectrum, the loser's end... Well, it's not fun.

When you're alone, nothing goes right for you.

You feel awkward, out of place, like you don't belong, and once _you_ think you don't belong, people will begin to treat you like you don't belong. And believe me, that only makes things worse.

Every day is a struggle. You wake up, take one look at yourself in the mirror, and you wonder, 'what am I doing wrong? Why don't people like me? Is it because of the way I look? Or is it my personality?' and if you're not careful, all those thoughts can drive you to the brink of insanity.

You begin to despise yourself and everything that makes you _you_. You want to be like those beautiful, immaculate people but you don't know how, and you kind of don't want to. It's confusing. You wanna be perfect, yet you feel like you can't seem to pull off the whole 'perfect' look.

For years, I'd been struggling with myself. People whispered about me behind my back. They compared me to my sisters and wondered how we were related. Blossom and Bubbles were always the types to get involved with school activities and go to school dances. They were beautiful, smart, charming; people flocked to them like bees would to honey.

But I... Okay, I'm gonna sound weird here, but I _prefer_ staying at home. Give me a video game or a book and I'll be just fine on my own. And as far as getting involved with school activities, well, what can I say? I'm a loner and if I don't have to deal with my peers besides the six hours I'm at school, then I _won't_.

I _won't_ tell you that I'm this gorgeous girl with long flowing hair and hypnotic eyes and a perfect figure and a perfect life because I'm _not_.

I'm awkward, I'm weird, I'm socially inept, my appearance is never what I want it to be, and I'm kind of a dork. And let's not forget the fact that I seem to carry a bad aura around me.

_My life sucks,_ was the last thought I had before I finally dozed off.

* * *

Monday came quicker than I wanted it to.

The Homecoming dance was right around the corner and it was the talk of the school. Girls gushed over the dresses they had bought or were planning to buy and guys were pumped about the Homecoming game.

I didn't care much about Homecoming; all the other years, I'd allowed Bubbles to convince me to go, but I never had much fun. I just hung near the wall and watched other people dance, eat pizza, and take pictures with their friends.

No one ever said hi to me or asked me to dance so I just clung to the wall until it was time to go. No one seemed to have a problem with that.

But whatever, Homecoming is Homecoming. I was planning to make up some excuse as to why I couldn't go this year and hopefully Bubbles wouldn't be upset with me. She was sweet, but she was naive; she didn't realize that all of her friends didn't exactly like me. She just thinks I'm antisocial and, after my years in middle school and high school, I'd say that yeah, I've definitely become antisocial. She wants to pull me out of my shell when the outside world seems to want me to stay in my shell.

Nothing special happened during the day. I made a fool of myself when I was sitting in third period because I asked a question and people around me had to turn around and stare at me as I voiced my thoughts. Even the teacher looked at me like I was a weirdo.

Let's just say I'm never asking a question in _that_ class ever again.

After ninth period, I was heading to Blossom's car when I noticed a whole bunch of kids crowded around it. Bubbles was sitting on the hood, talking animatedly about something. The guys and girls around her watched her with amazement, while a select few wore fake expressions that clearly conveyed their jealousy towards the pretty blonde.

I was about to head to the car and ask where Blossom was when someone tapped my shoulder. I turned around to see Butch, grinning as he always was, thumbs hooked in his pockets.

"Hey, pretty lady."

I blushed. I wasn't pretty...

"What's up?" I asked.

"Nothin', just came to see if you wanted to hang out?"

I glanced back at Bubbles. The crowd was laughing, now, some of them clapping. Bubbles' face was red, a bashful look on her pretty face.

Blossom was just exiting the school. If she saw me with Butch, she'd surely ask questions that I didn't feel like answering.

"Hide!" I hissed. "And meet me around the back of the school. I need five seconds."

He nodded and disappeared. I quickly approached Blossom.

"Hey, Buttercup. What's up?" she asked. I noticed that she seemed a bit agitated, but I decided not to ask why.

"Hey, listen, I'm gonna go out for a while. Don't wait up, okay?"

"Oh..." She hesitated. "Uh, sure. No problem. See you later."

"Thanks!" I called, and I took off to the back of the school. Sure enough, Butch was leaning against the wall.

"Had to give Blossom the slip, huh?"

I nodded. "Okay, where to?"

He grinned and took my hand. "Come on, I'll show ya!"

And we were off.


	8. Chapter 8

**To xmurderouspandax: I'm glad :P**

**To frannyfine29: thanks! You too, huh? Nah, it's not fun being an outcast, but at the same time, it's not so bad. When you're outside looking in, you become a lot more observant than other people and you become more independent, two things that aren't necessarily bad. Hope you continue to enjoy the story! :)**

**I don't own the Powerpuff Girls. If I did, I wouldn't be writing fanfiction lol.**

* * *

**.8.**

We flew for what seemed like an eternity. We left Townsville quickly, skipping over Citysville, and then began to fly over the ocean. I was just about to ask Butch where we were going when we came to an island. It looked uninhabited.

"Come on, I'll race ya!" Butch called. I grinned and flew after him.

"I'm gonna beat ya!" he yelled, trying to push me. I laughed and shoved him away from me.

"Cheater!"

We landed on the beach harshly, our laughter filling the air around us.

"I beat you!"

"No way, Cup, I won this one!"

"In your dreams, Butch!"

When we finally calmed down, Butch walked over to a huge piece of driftwood and sat down on it. Swinging his legs, he grinned down at me.

After I had landed on the beach, I pretty much just let myself lay down on the sand. If I got sand in my hair, so what? It's not like anyone noticed me anyway.

"Comfy down there?"

I snorted. "Oh yeah. Because sand is the ultimate bed."

Butch shook his head, that grin still on his face. That goofy grin on his face always seemed to be there. It never seemed to change; even if I was fighting with him, he was still grinning.

I liked it. It was my constant in this ever-changing world.

"What are you thinking about?"

I realized I'd been staring at him. Blushing, I shrugged.

"Nothing really. You?"

He thought for a second, then nodded. "I've been meaning to ask you a question."

"Fire away, then."

"Why did you become so... So..." He moved his hand to show he was trying to find the right words, but not the types of words that would offend me.

Hah.

"Quiet?" I supplied. He nodded.

Instead of staring at my new friend, I decided to focus my gaze on the tides that were lapping at the beach. The water looked so clean and pure that I would have dived right in had it not been cold out. The last thing I needed was to come down with a cold or getting hypothermia.

"Hard to say. I guess I started clamming up when I hit middle school."

"Why, though?"

_Because that's when people started thinking I was a jerk,_ I thought. _While I thought beating people up was funny, people around me started to realize I was a jerk and left me to my own devices. Fast-forward to today, and absolutely everyone in school hates me even though I've tried to right my wrongs._

"I was kind of a jerk back then," I admitted. "I'm different now; I've made my mistakes and I've learned from them. In high school, though, people don't care whether or not you've learned your lesson. If you wrong them, they'll hold that against you until the day you die. Or the day you graduate. Depends on the person, I guess."

Butch was quiet for a moment before he asked, "Is your school really that shallow? To remember something you did and hold it against you for years, even after you've changed?"

"_All_ schools are that shallow, Butch, just depends on the people you meet first. You meet nice people, people who actually give a shit about you, and you'll be able to pick out the shallow ones. Meet popular kids, kids who think sex and booze and partying are all that life is about, and you'll end up becoming shallow yourself."

"You talk as if you have so much life experience."

I closed my eyes. "When you're nothing more than a shadow, you pick up on a lot of things."

He nodded. "You know, it's funny. I never asked to be popular, yet I am."

_Lucky bastard._

"Are you involved in sports?"

"Yeah, I used to be on the football team at my school. It was fun until Boomer joined; then it just got annoying."

A bird cawed in the distance. I turned on my side to face Butch.

"How do you mean?"

"He only joined the team to get closer to your sister since we play against Townsville every season," he explained, rolling his eyes. "And he didn't know what he was doing. I had to teach him everything, right down to how you throw a football. It wasn't bad; he's a quick learner. But all he'd talk about is football this, football that, Bubbles is so cute, blah blah blah... It drove me nuts, so I quit. But all that work earned me a spot at the popular table."

"At least you're not a complete loser like me."

He rolled his eyes again. "Oh please. I'd rather be a loser than have to sit with a bunch of cheap whores and their stupid boyfriends. Ugh."

For years, I've sat back and watched things happen. Kids becoming popular, then reverting back to being normal nobodies, populars pulling stupid stunts then bragging about it, talks about smoking weed and experimenting with other drugs, nobodies becoming permanently popular only to lose their kindness.

But I'd never once heard anyone say what Butch just said, that being on the popular end of the spectrum sucks.

Was he out of his mind?

"Dude, are you serious? At least people talk to you and realize you exist. I'm lucky if people jump and say 'oh, I didn't see you there, you're so quiet'. Geez."

"Yeah, well, I _used_ to be popular until I beat the crap out of some guy for talking shit about me. Once I hit him, I was shunned. I like it better this way; I don't need people telling me what to do and who to talk to. If I wanted that, I'd go to Mojo Jojo."

A few heartbeats passed. The sound of the ocean and birds chirping filled my ears; I made a mental note to come back here at some point. This was nicer than that rickety old park I met Butch in.

A scuffing sound interrupted my thoughts and I looked to see that Butch had hopped off the driftwood to lay next to me.

He was staring up at the afternoon sky, the light blue mixing with splashes of pink, orange, and purple. Night was approaching.

"Sometimes I wonder why you talk to me," I said. "You're a really cool person and you seem to have no problem talking to people or going out to do things. I'm... Well, I'm _me_. I'm a pretty awkward person."

"You don't seem awkward to me."

"Trust me, I am."

"Prove it."

I bit my lip. Oh God... Time to prove what a dork I was.

"Alright... You know how in Townsville, we have a biking marathon for retired police officers? You know, where they do that cross-country thing on their bikes?"

Butch nodded. His full attention was on me.

No pressure.

"Well, in my art class, we were asked to make encouraging signs for them. They were going to pass through our school parking lot, so the teachers thought it'd be nice for us to stand on either side of their lanes to hold up the signs. While everyone else was making signs that said 'thanks for your service' and 'great job!', I made a sign that said 'keep moving forward'."

Butch's stare never wavered. "So... How's that awkward?"

Embarrassment colored my cheeks. "Dude, think about that. Everyone else is like 'good job!' and I'm standing there holding a sign that gives you directions on what to do."

"Well, you didn't mean for it to be directions, right? You meant for it to be encouraging."

"Of course. I made that sign because I thought of that movie _Meet the Robinsons_. I loved the whole 'keep moving forward' thing and figured it'd be a nice thing to say. But I didn't realize that I'd made a mistake until my fellow artists were staring at me, wondering what the hell I'd written something like that for. It was really stupid to write; I should've just said 'good job' like the rest of them."

Butch laughed. "Oh my God, Buttercup, are you serious? That's stupid. So they didn't get what you'd written; who cares? You knew what you meant and that's all that matters. Besides, it's better that you stand out rather than blend in."

I sniffed. "I stand out and blend in at the same time, Butch. It's weird; I stand out so much that people don't want to deal with me, yet I blend in so well that people hardly notice I'm there."

He shrugged. "So you're different. It's a blessing, Cup, not a curse. But it _could_ be a curse if you view it that way."

Then suddenly, he started laughing. "'Keep moving forward', huh?"

Even though it was something I was a little embarrassed about, I couldn't help but laugh, too; little things like that were worth the laugh.

Better to laugh than kick myself over it.

* * *

**Okay, so truth right here: _I_ did that. I was in advanced art and we were supposed to make signs for veterans that were doing a bike marathon to raise money for charity, and the first slogan that popped into my mind was 'keep moving forward' from that Pixar movie _Meet the Robinsons._ Love that movie, since it's got a great message. No one got the reference. I stood there like an idiot, holding up my sign that seemed to give directions rather than encouragement while everyone else was like 'good job' and 'thanks for your service'.**

**Anyway, yeah, so now you all know about that embarrassing incident :P Lol oh well, at least it's something to laugh about, right?**


	9. Chapter 9

**Hey guys, sorry for the late update. And I'm sorry if this chapter seems short; the next one should be longer :)**

**To Everess: Aww, I'm glad you're enjoying the story, and thank you :) Don't worry, this story will be a long one and I update pretty quickly ;)**

**To xxShadow-Gxx: I'm sorry to hear that :( But just know that even if people do compare you to your older sister, that you are special in your own way and that you can do anything you set your mind to regardless of what people say :) I'm glad that you're enjoying the story and I hope you have a good day!**

**To frannyfine29: lol thanks XD**

**I don't own the Powerpuff Girls.**

* * *

**.9.**

_Holy shit,_ was the only thought that kept coming to mind.

I was sitting in my English class, by myself, and I couldn't be more bored out of my mind.

My teacher just told us that we had to do a book report on a book of our choice and that we'd have to present it somewhere towards November.

Lucky for me, we were allowed to work with other people and present the report with them.

Unlucky for me, I didn't have friends to work with... So I was pretty much on my own and I'd have to get up in front of the class by myself. But no pressure.

It had been quite a few days since I had hung out with Butch at that island. We met briefly on Wednesday and he told me he had a lot of stuff to take care of, so we might not be able to hang out until the weekend. That was fine; I had to focus on this stupid book report anyway.

The room filled with chatter as people slid their desks together and began talking with their friends. I seemed to be the only one sitting by myself, which didn't exactly make me feel better about this whole project.

But, well, I guess I could give it my best shot. It kinda sucks that I'm by myself, but I've been by myself for my entire life.

Why should I expect this to be any different?

When the bell rang, I hurried to lunch. I was starving and couldn't wait to eat the sandwich I'd brought with me.

Just as I rounded the corner, I bumped into someone.

"Sorry," the other person mumbled, and went on their way.

At least, they tried to. I recognized the longish red hair and the red cap immediately.

"Brick? Is that you?"

He tensed. "Y-yeah."

"What are you doing here? Are you looking for something?"

He turned around slowly, hesitantly, as if facing me would be the hardest thing he had ever done. A pang of hurt washed over me, but I ignored it.

After all, I was used to this sort of treatment. Why should Brick be any different? Sure, Butch was nice to me, but that didn't mean his brothers had to be.

"Actually, I'm looking for Blossom. Have you seen her?"

I nodded. "She spends her lunch periods in the library. Make a right and keep going straight down the hall. You can't miss it."

"Thanks." With that, Brick walked off. Well, more like sprinted off, but I'd like to think that he just walked.

I continued my journey to the cafeteria and maneuvered my way through the crowds of people sitting, standing, and half-standing to get to my usual table.

When I was a freshman here, I used to sit with Bubbles' and Blossom's friends, but I quickly learned that they didn't want me there. They never said anything of course, but you can tell when people don't want you in their company. Besides; Bubbles' friends were too superficial and Blossom's friends were a little too stuck up.

Neither were my type of crowd, so maybe it's for the best that things didn't work out.

Now, in senior year, my table is right in the corner, with none other than the school weirdos. The school whore, these three emo kids who have major attitude (except one boy, he's very quiet but he seems like he's pretty nice), and a couple of other people I don't even know. The school whore was nice, at least, and she usually tried to strike up a conversation with me. We weren't friends, but we weren't enemies, either. We were kind of on the same side; we were the ones that society had tossed away and now we were struggling to get by.

I sat down next to the window and started to eat the sandwich I'd brought with me. The emo kids were talking about some band, occasionally sparking a small argument about dates or something, and then they'd go back to talking about other things. The school whore, Lindsay, was messing with her phone and texting a mile a minute.

It's funny because people dubbed her the school whore, but I don't think Lindsay is actually what people call her. I remember the first day I talked to her, she told me that she never slept with anyone. Whether or not that's true, I have no idea, but she's been pretty nice to me so I have no reason to think badly of her. Just because someone has a reputation doesn't mean it's true.

When I finished eating, I left the cafeteria to go to the nurse. I had thirty minutes left of the period and figured I could spend that time sleeping instead of noticing how many friends other people have compared to me.

I hate doing that. I always tell myself that I'm okay, that I don't need to have a bunch of friends, but I always find myself longing to have those cool friends. You know, the friends that have your back no matter what, who can make you laugh no matter the day you're having, the types who will do crazy things with you even if there's the possibility of getting in trouble.

The worst part about people-watching is that in high school, everyone around you looks like they're doing way better than you. Clothes, hair, makeup, the way they carry themselves looks infinitely better than what you could ever manage.

Have I mentioned how much I hate high school? Because I do. Very much. The day I graduate, I swear I'm going to scream 'hallelujah' to the heavens. I can't wait to get out of here.

When I got to the nurse's office, I saw that there was no one there. I was just about to go lay down anyway when one of their student helpers (or whatever they're called) stepped out of the back room.

Ah, one of the semi-popular, semi-outcast girls. The types of girls who are pretty, but a little kooky in the head.

Great.

"Excuse me, who are you?"

"I'm just looking to lay down, I don't feel well," I lied.

She looked me up and down. "Yeah, well, you're not supposed to be here if the nurses are out."

"I'm not feeling well. What am I supposed to do?"

"Do I look like the nurse?"

"No..."

"Then you should probably go." The girl scowled and flipped her hair. "And don't have an attitude. Gosh."

Anger broiled underneath my skin, but I tried to keep my temper at bay. I'd worked hard over the years to get my temper under control and I was not about to let some floozy undo years' worth of control.

I left the nurse's office and returned to the cafeteria, where I got to watch everyone around me have friends and talk about fun stuff while I got to sit by myself and wonder what was so wrong with me that people didn't even want to look my way.


	10. Chapter 10

**To MercuryBlack: You're absolutely right, it _isn't_ fun to walk into a room and realize that you're totally different and that people won't or can't relate to you :/ But it's not always bad to stand out from the crowd! I'm glad that this story is making you feel like you're not alone because you aren't alone. A lot of people feel the same way that you do, so don't ever think that you're alone :)**

**To Guest: Oh man you have no idea lol I laugh about it now, but after the marathon ended and I realized why everyone was staring at me like I was a freak, I kinda beat myself up about it for a while. But it's whatever; at least the sign looked pretty :P**

**To ROCuevas: She is, don't worry :)**

**To Everess: Aww thanks :) Don't worry, I don't plan on putting this story down anytime soon. I'm going to try to see it through to the end and there may possibly be a sequel after it's finished, but we'll see :)**

**Thank you to all my lovely readers and reviewers :) I'm glad you guys like this story and I hope you continue to enjoy reading it. Not sure how I feel about this chapter, but whether or not it's good will be up to you guys!**

**Hope you all are having a fantastic summer so far! Stay cool!**

**I don't own the Powerpuff Girls.**

* * *

**.10.**

That week was not fun, to say the least. The next week wasn't much better.

I was sitting in my room working on some homework when there was a tap on the window.

Butch grinned and beckoned for me to come closer.

As soon as I opened the window, he flew in.

"Wow, so this is the infamous 'Puff bedroom. It's... Girly."

"Dude, where've you been?" I demanded. "It's been practically a week since I've seen you!"

Butch flashed me a charming smile. "Miss me?"

Oh _man _did I miss him! He was the only person who treated me like a human being.

"Duh, you big lug. Seriously, what took you so long?"

He sat down on my bed and leaned back on his elbows. "School. And Brick wanted me and Boomer to train a bit since he thinks we're going soft."

I calmed down a bit. "Oh."

"So what's been up? How's your week been?"

It's been the shittiest week of my life. I embarrassed myself by stuttering when I was called on and had to endure half the period being laughed at and whispered about, I tried to talk to this cute guy but ended up making a fool of myself by talking too much and he pretty much stayed away from me for the rest of the period, and I got yelled at by a teacher for putting my head down for a few minutes which earned me stares from the entire class.

Have you ever been stared at by twenty other people? I don't mean the stare that says 'wow, you're amazing'; I mean the stare that clearly asks 'what species are you and what planet did you come from?'

In case you haven't, it's very unsettling and it'll make you feel like you're only two inches tall. It's not fun.

"Fine, I guess. Do you wanna hang out, go somewhere...?"

Butch nodded. "Yup! I can't today, but I'll be able to hang out tomorrow morning. You and I can hit up the club."

I glanced back at the door. "You sure? I mean, I have school tomorrow. Blossom would probably throw a fit if I -"

"C'mon, Cup, loosen up a bit. You had fun last time." Butch grinned, plucking one of Bubbles' stuffed animals from the floor. He tossed it into the air, then caught it; he did that a few times before he finally got bored and tossed the stuffed toy towards the closet.

With a sigh, I nodded. "Okay. Where do you want me to meet you?"

"Can you sneak out of school and meet me at that old park we met at?"

I nodded.

"Sweet."

Butch let himself fall back onto my bed and let out a sigh.

"School sucks."

My pencil seemed to have a life of its own as it began to doodle across my homework sheet.

"No kidding."

"I really hate the people there. I wish I could just graduate and get out of there already."

Lifting my gaze to meet his, I said, "Well, we only have eight months left. A lot of people have told me that it goes by quickly."

Butch snorted. "Yeah, I've heard that too. It's a load of shit, too; school takes for_ever_."

A thought occurred to me. "Ever think of dropping out?"

The thought of dropping out had never crossed my mind because I knew that if I even thought about dropping out, Blossom and the Professor would be all over my case about it. Besides, it'd be better to just get through my last year of school and say I stuck it out rather than drop out and have to go back to get a GED.

He closed his eyes. "Every single day. But I can't; Brick made a good point when he said 'don't start what you can't finish'. That's the only advice he's given me that I haven't ignored. I'd rather see this to the end than quit and have to end up going back. I think if I can finish high school, I can finish anything."

"Same here."

Finally, Butch sat up and began to get up. "I should probably get back. I'll see you tomorrow, okay?"

For the first time in weeks, I smiled. Not a fake smile, but a real one.

"Sounds good. Thanks for coming by."

Butch held out his fist and I bumped it with my own.

"See you tomorrow, Cup, and don't be late or else."

"Or else what?" I challenged.

Butch wiggled his eyebrows, then shrugged. "Or else... Well, I don't know. I haven't figured that out yet. But when I do, I'll let you know. So be there!"

I laughed. "I'll be there. I promise."

"Good. Later, babe."

* * *

The next morning, butterflies were dive-bombing around my stomach. I was so anxious; since Butch and I were going to the club during the day, what should I wear? How should I do my hair? Would Butch be able to see the pimple that was starting to form on my chin? Oh man, why does acne have to be so freaking cruel?

I went through outfit after outfit, hairstyle after hairstyle only to conclude that I was not even slightly prepared for today.

"Buttercup, we're going to be late!" Blossom called from downstairs.

"I know, I know, I _know_!" I hissed, tugging on a green sweater and a black jumper dress. Right as I was tying the laces on my boots, a honking noise sounded outside.

I grabbed my bag and rushed to get outside to the car.

"Have a good day, pumpkin!" Professor called from the kitchen.

"Thanks, Dad! See ya later!" And with that, I was out the door.

Once I was in the car and buckled up, Blossom took off towards Townsville High.

"You look nice," Bubbles noted. "I didn't think you owned any dresses."

My ears barely even registered her observation. I was combing my fingers through my short hair and trying to make sure it looked presentable.

"You look fine, Buttercup," Blossom said. I looked up to see her peeking at me through the rear view mirror.

With a sigh, I slid down in my seat and watched the scenery outside pass by.

When we arrived at school, Bubbles didn't get out of the car as quickly as she usually did. She hesitated.

"You okay?" Blossom asked. Bubbles nodded, biting her lip.

"Go ahead without me. I just need a few minutes."

Blossom nodded, shooting me a concerned glance before pulling the keys out of the ignition and exiting the vehicle.

"What's the matter?" I asked. "You look like you've got something on your mind."

Bubbles shook her head. "No, no, I'm okay. I'm just waiting for someone."

"Want me to wait with you?"

Her cheeks grew pink. "Well... You can if you want. But I don't think you'll be happy with me because he's -"

Bubbles was interrupted by the sound of the first bell ringing. Everyone who was loitering outside started piling into the school.

"I'm sorry, what was that?"

A tap on the window startled us both.

Standing outside in a nice blue shirt and a pair of stonewashed jeans was Boomer. He looked like he was pretty happy to see my bubbly little sister.

Bubbles opened the door and flung herself into his arms.

"Oh, Boomy, I missed you!"

I snorted with laughter. '_Boomy'?_

Boomer wrapped his arms around her and blushed. "I missed you too, Bubbles."

Suddenly, Bubbles froze. She turned around and looked at me, her doe-eyes wide with caution.

"You... You won't tell anyone, will you?"

Tell anyone? The only friend I have right now is a Rowdyruff. Why would I care if she's hanging out with Boomer?

_Blossom's probably going to have both our heads if she finds out. Oh well; it's a risk we'll have to take. I'm not giving up my friendship with Butch just because she doesn't like him or trust him and I'm pretty sure Bubbles doesn't want to give up Boomer. If Bloss finds out, she'll have to deal._

"Of course not. If you want to see Boomer, that's your business. As long as he isn't hurting you, I'm cool with it."

Bubbles immediately relaxed and she smiled.

Jealousy stabbed at me for a split second and I wondered why she got to be blonde and beautiful when I got the short end of the stick, but then I remembered that Bubbles was my sister. I shouldn't be jealous of her; I should be happy for her because she seems like she's really happy with Boomer.

Besides, she had never once been mean to me. Sure, sometimes I pissed her off and she snapped back at me, but never once had she ever excluded me or treated me like a freak.

"Hey, isn't that... Butch?" Boomer asked, pointing towards the other side of the car. Bubbles craned her neck to see where he was looking.

Sure enough, an emerald streak zoomed through the sky. It was time for me to go.

"That's my cue. I gotta go; have fun, okay? But not _too_ much fun."

Both of the bubbly blues blushed furiously as I got out of the car and flew off to meet up with Butch.


	11. Chapter 11

**To squeakyhammer555: I'm so sorry to hear that :( From what you're telling me, I don't think there's anything wrong with you. There's absolutely nothing wrong with being quiet, short, or left-handed. Don't let those people get to you, okay? They're probably just jealous because they can't handle your awesomeness :) Buttercup's life isn't the greatest right now but life is constantly changing. Things might be hard at the moment, but this too shall pass. Don't worry about what those people do or say, keep smiling, and have a great day, okay? :)**

**Hey you guys! Hope you all are having a great week :) Well, _had_ a great week; it's the weekend! Yeahhh buddy! ^_^**

**I don't own the Powerpuff Girls.**

* * *

**.11.**

Butch and I stepped through the secret door into Ace's Place and I was shocked to see a low-key restaurant rather than a rockin' night club.

The strobe lights were off yet a band was playing up on the stage where the DJ would be. They were playing some new age kind of music, but it sounded nice. There weren't too many people here; it was early morning after all, but most of the people here were eating breakfast and chatting over coffee.

"Come on, let's find somewhere to sit," Butch said, taking my hand. He led me over to an empty booth near the stage and we sat across from each other.

A waiter dressed in a crisp white shirt and black slacks came over to our booth. He smiled and asked what we'd like to drink.

"I'll have a Coke," Butch said.

"Water," I added, and with that the waiter walked off to fetch our drinks.

"It's nice here," I said. "I never would have dreamed that the Gangreen Gang could clean up their act and become successful."

"You'd be surprised at what people can do when you're not looking," he replied. "They used to be jerks, but they're pretty cool now."

Ace was at the bar cleaning a glass and talking to a young woman who was sitting in a nearby booth. He must have said something funny because she burst out laughing and he grinned. Upon seeing me watching the exchange, Ace looked up and gave a friendly wave.

Reluctantly, I waved back. I didn't think he would notice me or even wave at me. I used to beat the crap out of him when I was a full-time superhero and the last time I was here, he seemed deathly afraid of me.

People were full of surprises.

Butch turned to see Ace and they both nodded at each other in acknowledgement.

We sipped our drinks in silence, as there wasn't much to talk about.

Well, there kind of was, now that I think about it. Boomer was dating Bubbles. Did Butch know, or had Boomer kept it a secret from him?

"So.." I began, not knowing what to say. Should I bring up my sister and her Rowdyruff boyfriend, or should I leave well enough alone?

"So?" Butch prompted.

I shrugged. "Well, you do know that... Um..."

He watched me as I struggled to find the right words to hint that his brother and my sister were a couple. I didn't want to give too much of a hint; I had no idea how he'd react. Butch was cool, but Boomer was still his brother and Bubbles was still my sister. He may be my friend, but he might not like my sisters too much.

"Boomer is dating Bubbles?"

My mouth fell open. "You knew?"

He nodded, sipping his Coke. "Of course I knew. Boomer's been all lovey-dovey ever since she said yes when he asked her out. Didn't you know?"

"I just found out this morning."

"You cool with it?"

"As long as they're both happy, yeah. What about you?"

"Sure. He's the one dating her; it's his business, not mine."

I nodded. That was really the only answer to give. Bubbles' and Boomer's relationship was their business, no one else's.

A thought occurred to me. If Boomer and Bubbles were together, then...

"Does Brick like Blossom?"

Butch shrugged. "Good question. Half the female population at my school adores Brick, but he doesn't give 'em the time of day. He leaves early every day since the school accepted his application for early release and he heads to Townsville. I'm not sure what he does there, but I know when he comes back he's a lot calmer and focused. He might be going to see Blossom but he could be going to see a therapist for all I know. It's hard to tell with him."

"Oh."

I already knew the answer to the relationship Butch and I had. We were just friends, nothing more, nothing less. I was cool with that.

"Well, I guess if it makes them happy, more power to 'em." I swirled my water around with the straw. Butch nodded in agreement.

A waiter came by and asked if we were ready to order. Butch ordered the morning special, which was two fried eggs, five strips of bacon, a piece of toast, and two pancakes topped with maple syrup. I ordered a mushroom-spinach omelette.

When our food arrived, we both dug in. I was originally nervous when we were on our way here, but I know that there's no reason to be. This was my second time here. The people here seemed friendly and left you alone if you wished to be by yourself.

Butch stuck his fork into a piece of pancake he'd cut and he brought it to his lips. Before popping it into his mouth, he asked, "So what's been up?"

"Not a lot. Just school. Life. The usual. You?"

"Same. Life is boring on my side of the fence."

We both finished eating in record time. After Butch paid for our meal, we headed over to the bar.

"Hey Ace!" Butch called. "Can you come here for a sec? I wanna introduce you to someone."

_Oh God,_ I thought. _What's he doing? Stay cool, stay cool, don't screw up, don't make a bad impression..._

Ace said something to the girl he was talking to and came right over. "What's up, Butch?"

"I didn't get to properly introduce you guys," he explained. "So Ace, this is Buttercup, and Buttercup, this is Ace."

Like I didn't know who Ace was. "Hi."

"Hello, Buttercup. It's been a while, huh?" Much to my surprise, there weren't any traces of hostility in his voice. He almost sounded... Happy.

"It has. You have a really nice club."

"Thanks. Certainly took me long enough to rebuild it." He laughed and I swear, the woman he had been talking to swooned in her seat.

I smiled. "Well, you did a great job. It's pretty cool."

"Glad you like it. I'm sorry about the other night; I thought maybe I had done something wrong and the Mayor of Townsville had sent you to rough me up."

I shook my head. "No worries. I'm here with Butch; we've been hanging out and he said this place was pretty cool so I tagged along to check it out. I promise, I'm not here to cause trouble or hurt anyone. I'm just looking to get away from school and stuff."

Ace brightened. "Then you've come to the right place, kid. I have to get back to work since mornings are usually busy but I hope to see you two here again soon."

Butch bumped fists with Ace and then we were heading outside.

"That was nice," I commented. "Thanks for breakfast."

He slung his arm around my shoulders. "No problem, Cup. Come on; let's go back to that beach I found. We could chill there for the day; did you bring a bathing suit?"

I laughed. "It's the middle of October! Why would I bring my bathing suit?"

"Because the island gets pretty warm around winter. And I brought mine."

Sure enough, Butch plucked a pair of swim shorts from his jacket pocket. I huffed and lightly punched his shoulder.

"Well, I _would_ have brought mine if you _told_ me!"

He laughed. "Whoops, sorry. Anyway, wanna head back to your house to get it?"

"Sure."

* * *

The entire house was quiet. The Professor was probably visiting some college; he usually gave lectures and talked to potential future scientists about science-y stuff.

"Go on!" Butch poked my side, to which I replied with an indignant squeak. "Go get your bathing suit! I wanna go swimming!"

"Okay, okay! Sheesh." I playfully punched his shoulder before going up to my room. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed him plop down on the couch.

Since winter was approaching, the Professor had had us bag up all our summer clothes to put in the garage. I'm pretty sure I did (Bubbles had yet to), but I usually kept a pair of shorts and a tank top for when the heat was cranked too high. Even if it was snowing outside, I still liked to wear shorts around the house.

I opened the closet and started digging through piles of unworn clothes. I thought maybe my one-piece would still be there, but I must have packed it away with my clothes. After a while, my search fruitless, I headed back downstairs towards the garage.

"Find it yet?" Butch asked. He was laying back on the couch cushions and his eyes were closed.

"Nope. Gimme a few more minutes."

I opened the door to the garage and headed towards the boxes labeled 'summer'. I picked up the one that had 'BC summer' scribbled on it in green marker and set it down on the cement floor.

Upon opening it, my favorite green one-piece was laying at the top. I squealed and hugged it to my chest.

_Finally! We can go swimming!_

Shoving the box back in its place, I ascended the steps and went back into the living room.

...Only to see that Butch was no longer there.

"Hey, dude?"

No answer. Had he left without me?

No way. Butch wouldn't do that to me.

Would he, though?

_Maybe he finally realized what a loser I am and left me here,_ the mean part of my mind whispered. _Maybe he finally got tired of hanging out with an outcast and decided to find another girl who's prettier and more popular and fashionable and-_

"BOO!"

I shrieked and hit the floor, covering my head.

Butch's laughter rang through the kitchen. With a groan, I stood up and brushed my knees off.

"Butch, you buttface!"

I tackled him to the floor and we wrestled until Butch ended up on top.

"I got you good!" He was grinning like a maniac while he held my wrists down. "Admit it, Cup, I'm a boss when it comes to scaring you!"

"No friggin' way!"

"Come on!" He lowered a hand and poked my side. I squeaked and tried to get free from his grasp.

"You're such a butthead, Butch! Why do you have to scare me?" I pretended to pout.

"Because it's fun and it's easy." He tapped my nose and then got up. "Did you find it?"

I held it up. "Yup! Let's go!"

Before we took off, I poked his side. He flinched and immediately grabbed his side, staring at me with a shocked expression.

"That's for scaring me." And with that, I stuck my tongue out and took off. Butch's laughter echoed down behind me.


	12. Chapter 12

**Next chapter will be longer.**

**I don't own the Powerpuff Girls.**

* * *

**.12.**

"Dude, how the frick-frack is it warm here when it's the middle of October?" I asked, dipping my toe into the warm ocean water.

The entire beach, which had been slightly cool the other day, was now bathed in a dry heat. The temperature was at least over ninety degrees!

Butch walked away from me, then got a running start and flew up into the air. He went up a good thirty feet, then went hurtling towards the water like a bullet.

The second he touched the water, he created a huge splash. It was as if a nuclear bomb had exploded underwater, creating a watery mushroom cloud.

I yelped as a massive amount of water crashed over me, soaking me completely.

Good thing Butch and I had put our clothes on a rock that was up pretty high, otherwise I'd have to explain a bathing suit _and _wet clothing to Blossom. Lord knows that wouldn't be easy.

Butch emerged a few minutes later, spitting out some water. "How was _that_ for a dive?"

"I'd give it a four," I replied, squeezing water out of my hair. Butch gaped.

"How was that a four?! That was an easy ten!"

"Because you got me wet, you friggin' bum!"

Butch stuck his tongue out and leaned back onto the water. As he allowed the water to carry him, he closed his eyes and let out a long sigh.

"This is _way_ better than school," he said.

I waded into the water to join him, flicking some water at him. "Can't argue with you there. Still, though, how does this place stay ninety degrees when it's only fifty degrees over where we live?"

"Because it's closer to the Equator," Butch explained. "Townsville and Citysville are farther away. Sometimes it's a little chilly here though. We're somewhere around the Bahamas, I think, but don't quote me on it. All I know is this place is abandoned and I like it that way."

I couldn't agree more.

After feeling the tropical breeze sift through my damp hair, I decided to dive under and let my hair get completely soaked.

Once I resurfaced, I copied Butch and leaned back onto the water. It felt good to feel weightless, like I hadn't a care in the world. All that high school bullshit and drama could be dealt with later. Right now I was hanging out with Butch and giving myself over to the water.

"This is nice," I mumbled.

Butch used his legs to propel himself backward. He moved in circles, forward and backward, until finally deciding to let the waves take him wherever.

My thoughts were mercifully blank. No embarrassing memories or bad thoughts were creeping into my mind which allowed me to focus on my time with Butch.

While he continued to swim around, I swam back towards the beach and laid out on the hot sand. The sun beat down on me, tanning my skin and drying my hair.

_This is definitely better than school,_ I thought.

While I laid there, I closed my eyes and curled up onto my side.

Within minutes, I fell asleep.

* * *

"..ttercup?"

I stirred. _Who's calling my name? And why am I laying on a rough surface?_

"Cup, come on, this is the best part! You don't wanna miss it!"

"Miss what?" I mumbled, opening my eyes. Butch was sitting up straight and I noticed that I was laying next to him on the rock where we had put our clothes for safekeeping. He must have carried me up here.

"The sunset! It's really awesome here."

That woke me up. "It's sunset already? How long have I been out?"

"You were out for a good three hours. Don't feel bad, though, I took a nap too."

Guilt overcame me. "Oh man, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to fall asleep -"

Butch clamped a hand over my mouth and smiled.

"I said it's _cool_, Cup, relax. I fell asleep, too, so it's fine. But you've gotta watch the sunset with me; I'm not taking no for an answer."

I laughed softly and sat up next to him. Butch wrapped an arm around my shoulders and pulled me closer to him.

I leaned my head on his shoulder and held back a yawn.

Even though I fell asleep on the beach and I feel a little bad about it, it was the best sleep I'd gotten in weeks.

"Look at all those colors," Butch commented. "Isn't it crazy how they just streak across the sky like that? It's like an artist catapulted himself up there and had a field day with paint."

"It's pretty, though. And that sounds better than a lecture about the atmosphere and such from Blossom."

Butch snickered. "Or Brick."

After a little while, the sun really began to set. It was cool to watch; I'd never seen anything so lovely before.

Townsville had some nice sunsets, especially in the parks, but the one on this island beat the park sunsets by far.

"Wow."

Butch grinned. "Right?"

When the sun was halfway below the horizon and the sky was beginning to turn into a mix of dark blue and purple, Butch and I both changed out of our bathing suits (facing away from each other of course) and into our dry clothes. I ran my fingers through my hair only to wince when my finger got caught in a tangle.

Butch smiled and took my hand, and then we were off into the sky.

"Thanks for coming with me today," he said. "It was fun."

"Thanks for inviting me," I replied. No one ever invited me to things; it felt nice to actually have a friend who wanted to hang out.

He laughed and slugged me in the shoulder. "Anytime, babe, you're fun to hang with."

When we reached the Townsville harbor, I surprised Butch by throwing my arms around him and giving him a huge hug.

For once, the slight smell of cologne was gone. Butch smelled like the ocean and sand; it wasn't necessarily a bad smell.

"Seriously, thank you."

After the initial surprise wore off, Butch hugged me back. "For what?"

"For everything. See you later!"

With that, I took off for home.


	13. Chapter 13

**To Jolene the Werewolf Queen: exactly, just keep your head up and do what you gotta do to get out of there :) Being a dork is hard, but it's got its advantages! I just graduated and I can honestly say, all that hell you're going through? It's _worth_ it. Do what you got to do to get out of there, man. Life is so much better out here.**

**Thank you for your reviews! I'm sorry; in a rush this morning, but I wanted to at least get this chap up.**

**::W.A.R.N.I.N.G:: This chapter is really depressing. For those of you who have depression or suicidal thoughts or relate to BC's situation, take caution as it might be a trigger. Suicide is never the answer and if you have depression, I strongly recommend that you talk to someone and get the help you need. Life DOES get better; believe me, I know what you're going through. Again, I DO NOT support or condone suicidal thoughts or feelings or depression and those types of thoughts are ONLY used in this chapter to express the character's mental state.**

**I don't own the Powerpuff Girls.**

* * *

**.13.**

A week passed and Halloween was right around the corner. I hadn't seen or heard from Butch since that day we spent at the beach, but I figured he was busy with school and stuff. I didn't want to bother him if he was busy.

Boomer continued to meet Bubbles before each school day started and he always greeted me with a friendly smile and an excited 'hey, Buttercup!'

He was a really sweet guy and he treated Bubbles like a queen. I noticed that every couple of days, Bubbles left for the majority of the lunch period and came back with a styrofoam container tucked neatly in her bag. When I asked her about it, she would beam and say that Boomer had taken her out to a nice little restaurant down the block and that the food was so good that she had to save some leftovers for later. I was glad that she and Boomer were getting along as a couple; they both deserved to be happy.

As the days passed and blended together, I hadn't heard nor seen any sign of Butch, and I was starting to get antsy.

Where was he? Usually by now he'd at least drop in and give me a heads-up about any future plans or whether or not he'd be busy.

So what was up?

Because Butch wasn't around, I wasn't as okay as I would have liked to be, and when I say that, I mean that I wasn't as tolerant of school. I hated it there more than usual.

Butch had given me a taste of freedom, a glimpse into what it was like to have a real friend and have fun, and I suppose I'm greedy because I wanted more of that freedom; I was tired of being stuck in a place where no one cared about me and couldn't be bothered with me.

I wanted to spend my time with someone who was willing to listen to me, someone who didn't care what all the other people thought. Someone who treated me like a human being and actually wanted to be around me because I'm _me, _not because a teacher forced us to partner up or something.

I missed Butch badly. Without him, I didn't have any friends. My sisters had great lives and, while they weren't the type to rub it in my face that they had friends and great social lives, it was hard to watch them have fun during the day when I got to be alone.

I know that's wrong; they're my sisters and I should wish them nothing but happiness, but... I was jealous. Why couldn't I be like them? Why couldn't I be smart and likeable like Blossom or pretty and popular like Bubbles?

Why did I have to be such an awkward little freak? Why was I so different from people that they had to ignore me and pretend I wasn't there?

Why, why, _why_?

* * *

I knew school was going to be hell as soon as I passed through the double doors into the main lobby.

This morning I dumbly realized I hadn't done laundry in a while and only had one outfit left: a pair of grey jeans that I absolutely hated because they were too tight and a yellow camisole. I looked like an idiot, honestly; green was my color and here I was wearing a freaking yellow cami! A _neon_ yellow cami, no less.

Neon yellow did not go well with the peachy color of my skin. It was way too bright for me.

The black hoodie I was wearing was slightly too small and covered most of my upper half, but you could see a sliver of neon yellow poking out from beneath.

I looked ridiculous and I _felt_ ridiculous.

No one noticed my hastily thrown together outfit, of course, but I felt like everyone's eyes were on me, silently judging me and my outfit. I looked down at my clothes only to look up and see girls wearing cute sweaters, blouses, camisoles covered with snug cardigans, and T-shirts that fit them wonderfully. Their jeans looked perfect and their shoes pulled their outfits together like a rug would tie together a furniture set.

_Why are they so perfect?_ I wondered. _And better yet, if they can be perfect, why can't_ I_? Why am I such a loser?_

I noticed how soft and thin other girls' hair was and how perfectly proportioned their faces were. I knew that my face wasn't as perfectly proportioned; I had a small mouth, but when I smiled real wide, I had a Joker smile. It was creepy. And my eyes were a gross green color, the type of green associated with puke. My cheeks were a bit pudgy, but it wasn't baby fat; I just had a naturally round face.

My black hair was shiny, I guess, but it wasn't anything special. I let it grow to shoulder-length because when it was earlobe length, I heard girls and guys alike whisper and laugh about how I looked like a guy. Of course, I never confronted them about it, but it still stung to know that people thought that about me. Not only was I a Powerpuff, a _hero,_ but I was a girl; I was supposed to be pretty, beautiful even. I was supposed to be a pretty little thing with delicate features and a sweet, infectious laugh.

But while I fell down the ugly tree and got hit by every branch on the way down, Blossom and Bubbles became beautiful and perfect and sweet and everything good.

So why wasn't I? Why was I being mistaken for a guy when Bubbles and Blossom were already viewed as two of the prettiest girls in our school?

Why was I having trouble liking myself when my sisters had complete confidence in themselves?

With my morning starting out with doubts about my looks and comparing myself to other girls, I knew it was going to be a fun day. Note the sarcasm.

* * *

"Can any of you tell me what formula we use to solve this equation?"

The entire class was silent as our math teacher, Mrs. Baker, droned on and on about some new lesson that required usage of previous formulas we'd learned.

Or something like that. I don't care much about algebra or trigonometry and I'm not going to pretend to.

One kid raised his hand to answer, but Mrs. Baker seemed to remember that I was one of her students because her beady-eyed gaze landed on me.

"Buttercup?"

"Hm?" I asked, looking up at the board. It all looked foreign to me; math is not my strong point.

"Can you tell me what formula we should use to solve this equation?"

_I don't fucking know._

"Uhh... Distance formula?"

As if I had screamed bloody murder, three-quarters of the class turned around to stare at me.

"How could you get that wrong? It's literally the easiest thing in the entire world!" one girl asked me. Judging by the abundance of friends she had in this class, I'd say she was one of the girls who wasn't quite _popular_, but popular enough for it to count.

I held her gaze even though everything in my head was screaming at me to tell the class to turn around and stop staring at me.

Before I could answer, Mrs. Baker tapped the board with her pointer stick. She had almost a smug look on her aged face.

Mrs. Baker wasn't too fond of me and I think she got a kick out of making me uncomfortable. I wasn't the type to raise my hand to answer questions or even speak for that matter, yet she seemed to always sense my anxiety about being called on because the times when I didn't know the answer, she'd call on me and watch as I squirmed under the class's gaze.

I hated being called on. Being called on brought on anxiety; what if I answered incorrectly? I didn't want everyone to stare at me and I didn't want people to think I was stupid.

But fate is funny; people already thought I was ugly, stupid, and weird. What did I have to lose?

The lesson continued, but I tuned it out. I already felt like crap due to my cruddy outfit; getting made a fool of didn't help.

Come lunchtime and I felt completely drained. Any drop of self-esteem I had was completely gone.

I felt like the lowest person ever. Not pretty, not smart, not cool, not charming, not athletic... What exactly was my purpose here? To stand in my sisters' shadows and envy them until the envy consumed my entire being? Was I supposed to be the ugly duckling and make them look like swans compared to me? Or maybe I was supposed to be a verbal punching bag for people. Maybe I wasn't even good enough to be called a person.

As if that wasn't enough, my mind was reminding me about all my flaws, no matter how big or small they were.

Acne, short hair, dull eyes, small breasts, you name it.

I managed to sit through lunch for ten minutes before I couldn't take it anymore. In a sea of perfection, I was an ugly fish.

Time to find my way back to my own creek.

I left through the back doors and headed for the abandoned park.

Butch wasn't there, as I expected, but I guess a small part of me had been hoping that he'd be there because I felt a twinge of disappointment upon noticing his absence.

I landed next to the old swing set and sat down on my usual swing.

I couldn't take all this depression and negativity. Everyone has their limit and I feel like I've met mine... I'm no good. I don't _deserve_ to live. Someone like me doesn't deserve to inhabit this planet.

Why couldn't I be perfect? If I was prettier, smarter, more popular, maybe I'd feel better.

Everything weighed down on me until I couldn't take it anymore. I buried my face into my hands and I cried.

* * *

No more than I opened the front door, I was immediately questioned.

"Where were you today?" Blossom demanded, tapping her foot impatiently. Bubbles was sitting in the living room watching television but I could tell she was focused on Blossom and me. If an argument sparked, she'd put herself between us and break it up. That was Bubbles; always the referee.

"I was at school," I lied. "Where were _you_?"

"You weren't at school," my fiery-haired sister growled. "Don't lie to me."

"Oh yeah? And how do you know that?"

"Because you weren't sitting at the lunch table you usually sit at, you weren't in the library, and you weren't at the nurse's office. Why did you skip school?"

"Okay, look here, Blossom," I snapped. I loved my sister to death, but I shouldn't have to answer to her. So I skipped school today; it's not like I skipped often. I couldn't handle school today. "One, you're not my mother and I don't have to tell you squat, and two, even if I did skip school, it's none of your business."

"You're my sister, of course it's my business!" she exploded. "Ever since we entered senior year, you've been acting so childish, Buttercup!"

"Childish? _I'm_ acting childish? I'm not the one who's throwing a fit!"

"I'm not throwing a fit!"

"Yes, you are! You're pissed that I'm not talking to you and so you're keeping a close eye on me, just waiting for me to do something that will give you an excuse to call me out!"

Blossom's eyes widened at my words because she knew I was right, but she didn't back down.

"I'm just keeping a close eye on you because I'm _worried_ about you!" she cried. "Is that a crime? You're my sister and I care about you and I just want to make sure that everything is okay! Is that such a bad thing?"

I sighed. "Blossom, I told you that I'm okay."

"You're lying."

_I know._ "No, I'm not."

"Buttercup, I'm pretty good at reading people and I can tell that something is going on."

"Even if there was, if I don't wanna talk, _you_ shouldn't push me."

Blossom threw her hands up in the air. "Okay, fine. Whatever."

With that, she stormed into the kitchen. I shook my head, trying to figure out what exactly just happened.

"She's just worried for you," Bubbles said. I looked up to see her watching me sadly.

"We're _both_ worried for you. You don't seem like yourself... You seem like something's bothering you."

_You have no idea._ "I'm fine. No need to worry."

She opened her mouth to say something, then must have thought better of it because she nodded and resumed watching television.

I headed up to my room and gathered up my dirty clothes. I took them down to the washing machine and put them in, poured a small amount of soap over them, and then turned the machine on. The humming of the machine helped ease my explosive thoughts, if only for a moment.

The negativity, fighting with Blossom, keeping a lid on my depression to pretend that I'm okay in front of my sisters, being ignored and hated in school... I couldn't take it. I was so _tired_ of it all.

_There's got to be more to life than this. There's got to be._

* * *

**Not trying to be corny when I say this, but there _is_ more to life. If you can make it out of high school, you can make it through anything. For those of you going through bullying, feeling alone, or just the hell that is known as 'high school', trust me, high school is just a school. All those people? Don't worry about what they think; just focus on what you have to do to graduate and ignore them. Breathe in, breathe out, and let any bad thoughts leave. You've got this, you can get through this, and when you do, you'll be proud that you made it through :)**

**Don't ever give up. Not saying you guys ever would, but... Those especially who are dealing with heavy depression and feel like you'll never get out of high school, it's a little bit harder, but you WILL get through it and you will get out of hs! I know EXACTLY what you're going through because I was in that position myself. But keep pushing. Remove all those bad thoughts and feelings, even if it's difficult, do your best to think about things in a positive aspect, don't worry what others think about you, and focus on the goals ahead. I may not know each and every one of you personally, but I know that _I've_ been through heavy depression and it isn't fun. But it IS possible to conquer it and come out stronger.**

**Stay awesome, guys, and just know that this is probably the last majorly depressing chapter in this story. From here, things will start to change for BC.**


	14. Chapter 14

**To Chocoholic345: Oh... I didn't realize most bullying stories ended up like that, with the character killing him/herself. If Buttercup killed herself last chapter, that'd make for a crappy ending, don't you think? Unresolved issues, Butch would miss her as well as her family... Not sure why people would just kill off their main character, but to each his own I suppose. I'm glad my note helped you and don't worry; middle school is rough, but don't give up :)**

**To all my reviewers, I'm glad my note helped you guys and I hope that it at least let you guys know that you're not alone and that things can always get better, no matter what.**

**Forgive me if there are any typos, mistakes, etc. I finished this chapter early in the morning, and I am exhausted lol. Let me know and I'll fix them later.**

**Hope you guys enjoy this chapter; next update should be soon.**

**I don't own the Powerpuff Girls.**

* * *

**.14.**

The next morning, I didn't bother getting up. Blossom ignored me and went about getting ready for school while Bubbles tried to get me out of bed.

"It's a bright new day outside," she said. "You should get up! It won't do you any good to mope in bed."

"I'm not moping," I tried to protest, but even my voice felt weary. My entire body felt like it didn't want to move. Instead of torturing me with self-hate, my depression had drained me dry of all energy I might've had. Today was going to be spent in bed, and if not my bed, then my room. I didn't have the energy to face anyone today.

Bubbles huffed. "Yes, you are. Come on, Buttercup, up and at 'em! I'm sure everyone at school will want to see your lovely face!"

"No one wants to see me, Bubbles."

As soon as I said those words, I wanted to punch myself in the face. I wasn't supposed to clue my sisters in on the fact that they were loved and I was a loser. Like I said before, if people hated me, it was up to me to figure out why. Asking for help from my sisters was a stupid idea; as my sisters, they loved me and would have biased opinions. Blossom would say that people are stupid and can't see how 'great' I really am and Bubbles would say that I should smile more.

Bullshit. Complete and utter bullshit.

My sister huffed. "Oh come on, that's a lie and you know it. A lot of people like you!"

"You and Blossom don't count. You're my sisters; you're supposed to like me."

"Robin thinks you're cool."

"Robin hasn't talked to me for years."

"What about Mitch?"

_I completely bitched him out when I was a Sophomore. He hates me now and he hates me with good reason._

"What about him?"

Bubbles hesitated. "Wasn't he your best friend?"

"He was, but not anymore."

I turned onto my side to face her. Bubbles' eyes were wide with innocence. Seeing that made me really question why I was so jealous of her. She was beautiful, but she never asked to be beautiful and she was never once mean to me. I had no reason to be such a bitch towards her.

_I don't deserve a sister like you._

"Listen Bubbles, I appreciate that you want me to come with you guys to school, but I'm not feeling well today."

"Bullshit." Both Bubbles and I glanced towards the doorway.

Sure enough, Blossom entered the room, her features stern and slightly scolding towards me. She was currently working a brush through her long hair; the more she brushed, the shinier it looked.

"Blossom, don't start," I growled. I was really not in the mood to fight.

"You're getting up and you're going to school, Buttercup, no ifs, ands, or buts about it."

"Correction: _I'm_ going to stay in bed while you and Bubbles go to school."

"Wrong. You're going to school."

I chucked a stuffed animal at her. "Shut up. You don't tell me what to do."

"Oh really?"

"Yup." With that, I turned onto my side and pulled the covers over my head. I knew I was being childish, but I really, _really_ could not handle school today. It just wasn't going to happen.

After a few moments, Blossom sighed.

"Just this once, I'll let you have your way. Come on, Bubbles, we're going to be late."

"Okay. Bye, Buttercup. I hope you feel better."

"Thanks, Bubbly," I muttered, though I knew she heard me.

When I heard the tell-tale noise of tires rolling against gravel as well as the _vroom_ of the car pulling out and leaving, I sighed and buried my face into the pillow.

I knew laying in bed all day wasn't the answer to my problems, but it sure as hell beat spending six hours at a place where I'm ignored, hated, and ostracized.

* * *

Around eleven I decided to drag myself downstairs for some leftover pizza. Upon stumbling into the kitchen, the Professor looked up.

He was sitting at the table with the newspaper and a cup of coffee, something he did everyday. He liked to sip his coffee while reading about Townsville's latest news and events.

He looked surprised to see me.

"Buttercup, aren't you supposed to be at school?"

"I didn't want to go in today," I mumbled. "I need a break."

"Honey, I know it's not exactly your idea of fun, but it's important you go so that you get an education."

I sighed. "I know, I know. Listen, I'm not against going to school to learn; I just don't like the people there."

Upon opening the fridge, I realized there was no more pizza.

_Great. Cereal it is, then._

"Are they giving you a hard time?" he asked. I grabbed the milk and a box of cereal from the top of the fridge, also grabbing a bowl and spoon.

"Sort of," I replied, fixing myself breakfast. "It's not really something I like to talk about."

He sipped his coffee. "Well, if you don't want to talk about it, I won't push you, but if things are to the point where you stay home just to avoid these people, then I think something needs to be done."

_How?_ I asked myself. _How on earth do you do something about people ignoring you? That's not a crime; you can ignore someone if you so wish. Imagine going to the principal and whining that people hate you. Yeah, _that'll_ go real smoothly._

"It's nothing I can't handle," I assured him. "I'll be okay. I just needed a mental health day, that's all. I'll be back in school tomorrow bright and early, you'll see."

The Professor smiled. "Are you sure there's nothing I can do? If someone is bothering you and you need a little help, you know you can always ask me."

I forced a smile. The thought of going back to school tomorrow with my self-esteem way in the negatives was enough to make me want to vomit. The worse my thoughts about myself are, the more anxious I feel at school around other people.

"I appreciate that, but really, I'll be okay."

Suddenly, the Professor checked his watch.

"I have to go, sweetheart," he said, shooting me an apologetic smile. "Will you be okay by yourself?"

"Of course, Dad, I'm seventeen. I can take care of myself."

He laughed. "I know how old you are. But I also know that you don't usually take mental health days."

Out of curiosity, I asked, "What was high school like for you?"

The Professor thought for a moment, then shrugged.

"High school was merely school."

"Did you have friends, go to parties, fit in with the cool kids?"

He chuckled. "Not necessarily. Everyone called me 'awkward' and 'nerdy' because I was so interested in science. It bothered me at first, but then I realized that what other people said didn't matter; I enjoyed learning about science and I was proud of myself for earning all my blue ribbons and awards. As long as I was happy with myself, that was all that mattered."

There was truth to his words. As long as you're happy with yourself, no one else's opinions should matter to you.

It was smart, no, _wise_ to think that way and I wanted to reset my brain to think like that. No matter how much I told myself I didn't care about what other people thought, I _did_ care on some level. If I didn't, I'd throw on the first outfit that came to mind and wouldn't think twice about it.

The Professor folded up his newspaper and placed it in the middle of the table. He dumped his coffee in the sink and rinsed out the mug.

Before he went into the living room to grab his coat and briefcase, he pulled me into a hug and kissed my forehead.

"I'm not sure what's going on at school, but I know you, Buttercup, and I know that whatever is bothering you, you'll figure out a way to overcome it. Relax today and take it easy; if you need me, call my cell phone, okay?"

I hugged him back. "Thanks, Dad."

With that, the Professor left, leaving me alone with my thoughts.

Somehow, some way, I needed to get out of this funk. I needed to be positive, I needed to stop being so jealous of other girls around me.

The million dollar question, however, is _how_ do I change my thinking without relapsing into depression?

* * *

I was in the living room watching daytime television when the doorbell rang. I started to get up, my eyes glued to the soap opera drama in front of me, when the doorbell started to ring nonstop.

"Ugh, I'm coming! Hold your horses already!"

I unlocked the door and opened it to see Butch smirking at me.

"Really?" I asked, even though I was overjoyed to see him.

"Hey, I was helping you out. At least now you know the doorbell works."

Rolling my eyes, I pulled him into a hug. "Where've you been?"

"School. And looking for a good college."

I pulled away and closed the door behind him. We both headed to the living room and I made sure to turn the TV off before giving Butch my full attention.

"College, huh?"

He nodded. "Mojo wants me to go to college, even if it's community. Even though I don't usually listen to what he says, I've been thinking of at least starting at Citysville Community."

I'd never given much thought to college. Blossom was going, I knew that for sure; she was already planning on applying for a bunch of scholarships and was working her tail off to make sure she got into a decent school. As for Bubbles? I wasn't sure what her plans were.

I knew that _I_ was tired of school. Thirteen years of judgmental stares, glares, whispers, and gossip was enough torture for one lifetime. Why would I want to endure more of that?

"I've never even thought of going to college, to be honest," I admitted. Butch shrugged.

"I might, I might not. I just want to see what my options are. It's never a bad idea to at least see what's out there."

That wasn't a bad idea. Maybe I should do the same, do some research, look and see what options are out there. Even though I'm very reluctant to even think about going to school for another few years, a small part of me was curious.

A lot of people said that college was different from high school. There were responsibilities, but also many freedoms.

But what were the _people_ like? Were they just like high schoolers or were they mature adults? Because honestly I was exhausted of dealing with option #1.

When Butch finished talking about the research he'd done on the colleges he was looking into, he gave me a bright, heart-stopping smile.

"So, how've you been?"

I opened my mouth to speak, but the minute my voice came out, it cracked. My eyes watered and, without my permission, the hot water bubbled from my eyes and overflowed down my cheeks. Butch's happy-go-lucky expression turned into one of shock.

"Cup?"

"Not good," I whispered, wiping at my eyes. "I haven't been good at all. I'm so glad you're here; it's been hell without you."


	15. Chapter 15

*****TRIGGER WARNING: If cutting or heavy depression is a trigger for you, I would recommend against reading this chapter.*****

**To Chocoholic345: Please be patient**

**To Junior Mints: That sucks, but I kinda know what you're going through. The only real friend I had, who I'd known since middle school, went back to her old school during November of our senior year. After that... Ugh, it sucked. I quickly learned that I didn't have too many friends besides her, and better yet, that she was a terrible friend. That's life for ya :) I hope that things have gotten better for ya :)**

**To ROCuevas: That's true. I can't wait till my semester starts; it's a whole different world in college, man. Much better than high school.**

**To Pretenders: That's true.**

**To Orioles1997: Hey you! Was wondering when you'd get back :P Glad you like this story so far; I wasn't sure too many people would like it and I was going to take down the first chapter the minute I posted it, but I'm glad I left it up. :) I'm sorry that people can relate but I'm also glad that they feel they can reach out and feel like they aren't alone. If I'm able to help someone feel a little better about their situation, then that's all that matters :)**

**Please let me know how you guys feel about this chapter. I had a bit of a tough time writing it, but as you can see, the words were able to write themselves :) I might edit it, but later. I'm tired lol.**

**I don't own the Powerpuff Girls.**

* * *

**.15.**

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Butch said, placing his hands on my shoulders. "What's going on, Buttercup? What's wrong?"

I continued to wipe at my eyes and let out a shuddering sigh. "I just... I missed you so much. I know it probably sounds stupid, but... You're my only friend and the only person who actually treats me like I'm _worth_ something."

Butch stared at me for a good five minutes before he let go of my shoulders. "Buttercup... You've told me before that things are a bit rough for you in school, but... Jesus, what happened to make you _cry_?"

I could feel my face crumbling with anguish. "I'm-I'm sorry, Butch. I don't mean to be upset in front of you -"

"Stop that, there's no need to apologize. Wanna tell me what's going on, though? I've never seen you like this."

We headed over to the couch and while Butch sat down, I turned the TV off.

I could feel my depression and my self-hatred bubbling up. It was going to bubble right over the rim of my mind and explode out of my mouth. Butch would finally realize how fucked I was in the head and why he should find another girl to hang out with. I didn't want to tell him that I was depressed, that I thought about suicide at least once a week, and that I compared myself to everyone else on a regular basis. Those were flaws, tragic flaws at the very least, and everyone knows that a tragic flaw will eventually bring down the hero.

Imagine what three or more could do.

Before I could filter myself, the words flew out of my mouth.

"I feel like absolute shit," I confessed. "I just freaking hate myself, you know?"

He narrowed his eyes. "Hate yourself? But why? What's so bad about you that makes you hate yourself?"

"Butch, _look_ at me." I motioned to my body. "I'm fucking ugly, I'm boring, I'm socially awkward... I'm a total _loser_! Everyone hates me, even _Blossom_ hates me now, and I deserve to be hated! Why? Because I'm insanely jealous. Incredibly, incredibly jealous of my two perfect sisters and the entire female population in my school. Everyone is so much nicer, so much cooler and prettier, and I never seem to measure up. I'm not good enough and I'll _never_ be good enough. I'm a terrible person because I'm jealous of my own sisters, the two people who love me very much, and yet I can't stop wishing that I was them for a day, and I wish I could look like them and talk like them. I'm no good and I should just do the world a favor and kill myself-"

At that moment, before I could spew any more of my verbal diarrhea, Butch placed his hand over my mouth.

He sighed, letting the air pass through his nose, before smiling.

"You're wrong."

I tried to protest, but Butch wouldn't remove his hand.

"Listen to me, Buttercup, and listen good 'cause I don't usually talk like this," he began. "But you're really selling yourself short here. You're not a bad person, okay?"

Hot tears lined the rims of my eyes and blurred my vision. Even through my watery eyes, I could still see that winning smile on his face. That smile, the smile that was my constant in this world.

Finally, he removed his hand and motioned for me to sit down. I obliged and sniffled loudly.

"School sucks and I get that," he continued. "Everyone always reads about the fun stuff that happens at high school and everyone always expects it to turn out like that. We all wanna be popular and cool and all, but life doesn't work that way. You're either one of the cool kids or you're not, but just because you don't fit in with them doesn't mean you're not cool. You've told me time and time again that you're alone in school, that people avoid you. Well, who cares about them? Seriously, Cup, they don't matter!"

Butch let out a laugh and shook his head before his eyes locked with mine.

"They_ don't _matter, that's the beauty of it. If they wanna be rude and ignore you, well, whatever then. So you're ignored. But that doesn't mean you're a bad person and it certainly doesn't mean that you're ugly. You're far from ugly, actually, and I'm not just saying that because I'm your friend. You're a cute girl and you shouldn't put yourself down like you've been doing. You're a helluva lot better than you give yourself credit for, you know?"

I stared down at my hands. "I just don't understand why people don't like me. You're the only person who's ever been nice to me besides my family and I... Well, I don't understand it. I try so hard to be nice to people and I try to smile even though inside I'm screaming, but it doesn't work. What is it about me that's so horrible, Butch?"

He scoffed. "There's nothing wrong with you, Buttercup. It's the world that's screwed up. People are not always gonna like you, and that's okay because _you're_ not always gonna like certain people _you_ meet. But the key is to not care. They don't like you? Cool. They can shove it.

"Besides, you're special," he continued, sitting down next to me. "People like you and me are smart, deep down, even if we don't show it, and even though we might feel like giving up, there's always that voice deep down that tells us to hit the sack and try again tomorrow."

Suddenly, Butch sat up straight and lifted one of his sleeves. He turned his hand so that his wrist was facing upward.

I was shocked to see an angry reddish-purple scar right where it shouldn't be.

He smiled. "See that?"

How could I not?

"You cut yourself?" I asked. Butch shrugged.

"I tried to once, 'tried' being the keyword, but Boomer caught me. I had never done it before, yet I always heard about people cutting themselves and how it made them feel better. Well... I'm not going to lie to you; I used to be heavily, heavily depressed. I hated myself and I was in a really dark place. But the first time I slid that razor across my wrist was the last; Boomer was so upset with me that he hid all the razors, told Brick what happened, and they wouldn't even let me pee by myself. They watched me closely to make sure I didn't pull a stunt like that again. It was annoying at the time, but looking back, I understand why they did it. Sometimes they still try to check up on me, but I'm doing a lot better since they intervened."

"How did Boomer catch you?" I asked.

He sighed. "Well, it wasn't hard to see that I was going through some rough stuff. Boomer's good at reading people and he noticed something was off about me; when I locked myself in the bathroom and he didn't hear water running, he picked the lock and came right in. Snatched the thing out of my hand before I could cut myself again.

"Here's the thing, though, Buttercup," he continued, watching my face. "I ended up cutting myself a little too deep and I had to go to the hospital to get it sewn up. It was supposed to heal instantly, but it didn't, and as soon as Boomer told Brick what had happened, they both forced me to go to the hospital. Long story short, they fixed me up so I'm here to tell the tale.

"I'm not telling you all this to give you ideas, either. You ever see Bubbles cry? Well, imagine Boomer. He was in _tears_ during the ride home and Brick was pissed, but I could tell he was just upset that I'd tried to do something stupid instead of talk to my brothers. We may be the Rowdyruffs, but when it comes down to it, we're human, too. We have feelings. I think if Blossom or Bubbles lost you, they'd be devastated. I know for a fact that if _I_ was dead, Brick and Boomer wouldn't be the same. We're brothers and we look out for each other, and I imagine you and your sisters do the same. So please, _please_ don't ever think about... Y'know... Killing yourself."

It took a moment for his words to settle in my brain. That was some heavy stuff... I would have never guessed that someone as cool and easy-going as Butch would have gone through something like that.

I shrugged. "Look... It goes through my mind, but it's not like I would actually do it. I'm too much of a coward to do it and as much as I hate myself, I don't think I want to die."

"You don't," he reassured me, pulling his sleeve down. "_You_ don't want to die; you just want the _pain_ to die."

"I'm sorry that you went through that," I said, not meeting his eyes. I felt ashamed of myself; I'd completely exploded and gone off the wall at the only friend I had, a friend whose demons had been strong enough to make him cut. I had bad depression, but I would never bring a razor across my wrist. I couldn't. I wasn't much for pain, honestly; as girly as it sounded, I usually released my emotions through crying or screaming into my pillow.

I thought _I_ had it bad, but Butch had it worse.

He shook his head. "I didn't tell you all that just for you to apologize and feel bad for me, Cup. I told you that because I want you to know that I get it, alright? You don't have to censor yourself around me and you don't have to feel like you gotta be perfect. If you're happy, we'll laugh, but if you're feeling down, then we'll talk through it. I used to have depression like you, so I know what you're going through. You feel like you hate yourself, like you're not worth anything. You feel like your sisters are better than you, better at fighting and meeting awesome people and just being cool. You feel like the world silently laughs at you and thinks you're scum. But you're not; it's all in your head. Your sisters aren't better than you and you're not better than them; you guys are equals. We're _all_ equal. No one's better than anyone else. More skilled, sure, and more experienced in certain things, yeah, but not better."

He was right. My sisters and I _were_ equal. Comparing myself with them was unfair, both to me and them.

Blossom and Bubbles had their strengths and weaknesses and so did I. They were pretty and had strong social skills... Well, I might not be too great at socialization, but maybe I'm not as bad as I thought. Butch is my counterpart, which means that, like me, he's not good at saying stuff like that, so I didn't think he was lying. During the few weeks we had been hanging out, Butch hadn't given me a reason not to trust him and I wasn't going to just wave off what he'd said.

Running my fingers through my hair, I said, "Listen, Butch, I-I'm sorry that I just blew up like that. I've been dealing with some heavy stuff for years and it just sort of poured out. I hope that you don't think I'm messed up in the head, because I promise I'm not... At least, I don't _think_ I am... I'm just not happy with myself sometimes. I don't want to compare myself to other people, but it just sort of started happening. I started to notice how other girls dressed, how they talked, how guys talked, and even though I tried to be like that, it never worked out well for me. I was always too shy or too loud, too awkward or trying too hard to be social. I wanted to fit in. I wanted to be like them and I wanted to be like my sisters, but I've always been different from them."

Butch smiled. "There's nothing wrong with being different. For the record, I think you're doing just fine; you don't need to be like those other girls or like your sisters. You're _you_ and you're fine the way you are. And don't be sorry for blowing up; I was wondering when you'd finally spill your guts. You didn't look too good when you opened the door and even though I had a feeling that something was wrong, I didn't want to push. But I'm glad you told me all that; you shouldn't be dealing with all that shit by yourself. Do your sisters know about all this?"

I shook my head. I was supposed to be the tough one; what would Blossom think of me when I couldn't quite fill that role anymore?

"You should tell them. I think it'll help."

I still felt bad about blowing up and spilling all my thoughts and I was going to apologize again when Butch propped his feet up on the coffee table and rested an arm around my shoulders. He pulled me closer and grinned down at me.

"So, what are we watching?"

* * *

After eating our fill of potato chips and watching numerous mindless shows, Butch said that he needed to go back home. Before leaving, he pulled me in for a tight hug and kissed my forehead, something that both surprised me and made my cheeks warm.

I did a lot of thinking and Butch was right, about everything I mean. Keeping all this stuff bottled up inside wasn't going to do anything but continue to poison me. I needed to tell my sisters about what was going on and then I would figure out the next step from there.

Bubbles was the first one through the door. She set her bag down and bounded into the kitchen, returning minutes later with three chocolate pudding cups. She offered me one, but I declined, laughing instead at the chocolate smears that had appeared all over her mouth and chin after devouring the first cup.

Blossom entered the room hesitantly, almost unsure of how to approach me.

"Buttercup, I was wondering if -"

"Is it okay if I talk to you two?" I asked. "I'm sorry for interrupting. I know it's your pet peeve and all but there's just something that I think we should talk about. The three of us. You know, sister to sister to sister?"

Blossom's eyes widened slightly before nodding.

"Sure. How about we all move this into the kitchen?"

With that, Bubbles and I got up and followed our oldest sister into the kitchen.

_I hope I'm making the right choice._


	16. Chapter 16

**Hey guys, I know the last chapter was dark. This one is pretty light, though, and it only gets lighter from here. I hope you guys enjoy this chapter, and I do apologize for the late update. Been pretty busy lately, but I finally found some time to write.**

**I was a little surprised to see that not many people reviewed last chapter. I hope you all are doing okay and that I didn't trigger anything.**

**To frannyfine29: I'm glad you like this story :)**

**I don't own the Powerpuff Girls.**

* * *

**.16.**

If I thought telling my sisters I wanted to talk was difficult, then it was nothing compared to actually sitting down in front of them and having them stare at me expectantly.

What exactly was I going to tell them? 'Oh, hey, so I just wanted to tell you I've been depressed these past couple of years due to the fact that no one likes me and I'm super jealous of you two because you're perfect and I'm not'?

If I tell them I'm depressed, they'll probably just tell me to be happy again or Blossom will tell me that it's not depression that I have, it's something else because depression is something that has to do with imbalanced chemicals in the brain and blah blah, yeah yeah. Should I censor myself and try to edit what I'm saying as I go along? Or should I just tell them everything straight up?

"What did you want to tell us?" Blossom asked.

_Ah, Blossom; always straight-forward and never one to waste time._

"I, uh..." I swallowed nervously. "You know how... Um... Well..."

"Yes?" Bubbles prompted. She offered a supportive smile, something I appreciated.

Finally, after I realized my internal debate was getting me nowhere, I took a deep breath and blurted, "Guys, I've had depression the past few years and it's getting really bad, like, _really_ really bad, and I don't know what to do, but you guys are my sisters and I didn't want to lie to you guys and tell you I'm alright if I'm not. Blossom, you've been asking me over and over if I'm okay and telling me that I'm not acting like myself and you're right, I'm _not_ acting like myself. I'm not much of a fighter anymore; I've become more of a pacifist. I don't want to hurt anyone if I don't have to because right now I'm kinda-sorta hurting and I don't want to put anyone else in pain when I know what it feels like. And I've kind of pulled away from you guys over the years because you two are really pretty, _gorgeous_ even, and you have everything; you're both perfect. And I look at myself and I don't look anything like you two. I'm... Well, I'm different, and not just in looks."

I turned to Blossom. "You have really pretty red hair and you have a killer fashion sense. Every morning when you're getting ready and you just pluck any old outfit without second-guessing yourself, I wish that I could do that because I always second-guess myself and end up going through all of my clothes and then run the risk of being late to school. You're also extremely smart and confident, you're funny, and you're just overall a cool person. Sometimes when I rag on you a little bit, it's because I'm jealous of you."

Before she could say anything, I turned to Bubbles.

"And Bubbles, you're a total sweetheart. You're so nice to everyone, you're really pretty, and I wish I had your confidence. To be able to cheer, do somersaults, and even just get up in front of a huge crowd... That's something I could never do, not on my own anyway. You've got lots of friends and people look up to you and I wish I could be more like you, but the truth is that I'm not all that confident, and while I love you dearly, sometimes I'm jealous of how optimistic you are and how sweet you can be even on your worst days."

Her eyes widened to the size of dinner plates. "But -"

"It's just," I cut her off, letting out a sigh. "I guess what I'm trying to say here is that I'm incredibly jealous of you two. You guys are so pretty and perfect and I'm just kind of... _Me_. And while jealousy is a major problem I have, I also get bouts of depression here and there. Sometimes it's hard to get up in the morning, as you both saw how I refused to get up and go to school today, and sometimes I'm okay. Sometimes I feel like crying and I wonder why I haven't killed myself already-" Blossom winced "- and other times I feel like it'll be a good day. Today was not a good day and a close friend told me that maybe it'd be in my best interests to tell you guys what's been going on, so... Here we are, I guess. I just hope you guys don't think I'm weird or anything, because I kind of really care what you two think and if you guys started to hate me like everyone at school does, I don't know what I'd do."

A thick silence filled the air. Bubbles and Blossom were both staring at me, their eyes wide. They probably weren't expecting me to say all that stuff, but it flew out as soon as I opened my mouth.

It felt like a weight had been lifted off of my shoulders, honestly. After telling them about my jealousy and all that other stuff, well, it feels good. It feels like that stuff has gone away... For the moment, anyway.

Their blank expressions were making me nervous, though. What if they turned me away? What if they started to ignore me just like the kids at school? What if they hated me now? Did they think I was petty for being jealous of them? Did they -

"Buttercup, I had no idea you were going through this!" Bubbles cried, launching over to pull me into a bone-crushing hug. Tears cascaded down her face and she sobbed into my shoulder, muttering 'I'm so sorry' over and over.

I shifted so I could hug her more comfortably and patted her back. "It's okay, Bubbles, there's no need for an apology."

"Y-yes there is! Blossom and I should have noticed that you were depressed!"

"I had a hunch you had depression, but I wasn't sure how bad it was," Blossom said. For once, her expression wasn't smug or carefully blank. She looked sad.

I pried myself from Bubbles' arms and went to retrieve a box of tissues for her. She mumbled a 'thank you' and wiped at her nose and eyes.

"It's been bad for a while," I replied. "But this year, it seems to have gotten worse."

"I wish you had told me sooner. If I had known your feelings, I wouldn't have pushed you and I would have understood why you were taking a day off today."

I looked down. "Yeah, well, maybe I should have. But I didn't, and I'm telling you now. So.."

"Buttercup, you shouldn't be jealous of me and Bubbles," Blossom said, reaching across the table to take my hand in hers. "There's absolutely _nothing_ wrong with you! You have so much potential to be whatever you want. I know you're a smart girl; sharing comebacks with me is no easy feat -" she flashed a smile "- and you're just as pretty as you say Bubbles and I are. You have a pretty good sense of humor, and even though sometimes we may not always get along, I can tell that you have a good head on your shoulders."

I was surprised to hear her say these things. Blossom was the eldest and the smartest out of the three of us, but I was expecting a lecture on how I shouldn't be depressed or something of the like.

"Over the years, I've noticed that you've been withdrawing into yourself more and more. When we're called to help Townsville, you're much more reserved than you used to be, and I've always wondered why that is and I will admit, that's why sometimes I've snapped at you or argued with you. I wasn't sure what was changing you and while I wanted to talk to you about it, I could never seem to find the right way to approach you about it. I didn't want you to think that I was over-analyzing your actions or breathing down your neck, yet I wanted to know why you weren't fighting as passionately as you used to. It's been frustrating because I see that something is bothering you, yet I don't know specifically what it is and I'm not sure what to do to approach you about it. I didn't want to force you to do anything because that might make you withdraw even further into yourself. You've had multiple symptoms of depression, but I'm not a doctor and even if I may be right, I don't have the authority to diagnose you with anything, so to approach you with the wrong idea in mind seemed like a stupid thing to do. You're quiet nowadays, you keep to yourself, you hardly talk in school let alone home, you sleep excessively, and you don't look happy anymore.

"I'm glad that you told us," Blossom finished. "Because even if you decide you don't want our help in dealing with all of this, Bubbles and I are your sisters and we want to at least be on the sidelines in case you need us. You aren't alone, Buttercup; no matter what you're feeling, I'm always here and I will gladly put aside whatever I'm doing to listen to what you're thinking. I'm sure Bubbles would do the same."

My blonde sister nodded. "Of course! I love you two to pieces and if anything was hurting either of you, I'd want to be there to help you in any way I could!"

Relief washed over me. They didn't think I was a freak. They actually understood what I was feeling and were offering to help instead of turning me away.

Slight guilt stabbed at my stomach. I shouldn't have thought so lowly of them. Blossom and Bubbles aren't mean, not in the slightest, and they care about me.

"I honestly thought that maybe you guys would feel like I was weird or something," I admitted. "I thought that maybe you would start to ignore me and not want to deal with me anymore after I told you this. I'm sorry that I thought that."

"We'd never think you're weird," Bubbles said, a small smile on her lips. "Because the three of us are weird _together_. That's just how we are. It's a good type of weird and it's something that's kept the three of us close all these years. We all have superpowers and we were all born in a laboratory rather than a hospital, plus we grew up fighting crime together instead of playing 'house' in our room all day. We know better than anyone else why we have certain viewpoints and why we are the way we are. The three of us are different from other people in a good way, and even if that makes us weird, I'd rather be weird and close with my sisters than be completely normal and not get along with you guys."

She did have a point.

"I'm not sure why the kids at school ignore you, but I wouldn't pay them any mind," Blossom said, getting up and opening one of the kitchen cabinets. She grabbed a teacup and a box of tea bags. "High school is a difficult time for many people and when you reach higher grade levels, there are more responsibilities to worry about. It doesn't help that the people there are very judgmental and ready to make you feel horrible about yourself if you slip up and make a mistake. If you really want to know, Buttercup, I'm not always as sure of myself as you may think."

I stared at her. "Really?"

She shook her head, getting out a pot to begin boiling water. "Sometimes when I'm in a Student Government meeting and everyone is looking at me for answers, I freeze up. I worry that I will make a bad decision and it will have a negative effect on our school. Sometimes when I'm talking to people, I overthink everything I say and I worry that I made a bad impression of myself. While I'm not nervous going into Townsville to fight crime, sometimes I do feel nervous going out to, say, the mall or a diner where there may be lots of people. I'm what you would call socially anxious."

Bubbles nodded. "And while you might think I'm really confident and pretty and all, sometimes I get really nervous before pep rallies and when we're practicing cheerleading in front of other students. Some of the girls on the team aren't very nice and they tend to watch my every move so that when I make a mistake, they can poke fun at me and whisper about it with their friends. It makes me self-conscious sometimes and it makes me wonder if maybe there's something about myself I should change. They're all so pretty and sometimes I wonder if maybe I don't belong in cheerleading next to girls who are prettier and peppier than me, but then I realize that even if they are much prettier and peppier, I give cheerleading my all and I enjoy doing it, and that's all the reason I need to continue. It's kind of annoying to hear other people talk about you behind your back and sometimes I get pretty nervous, but I just tell myself 'don't think, just do'. It doesn't matter what other people think. If you worry about what other people think, you'll drive yourself crazy trying to be what they want you to be or what they don't want you to be. You can't please the world, but if you're happy with yourself and who you are, then I think you're doing just fine."

Both of my sisters were completely blowing my mind right now. I had no idea Blossom had social anxiety; she always seemed so comfortable talking to anyone and everyone and Bubbles seemed to be one of the best cheerleaders on her team. To hear that sometimes she felt like she didn't measure up to her fellow cheerleaders was insane; she totally surpassed all those other girls on so many levels!

But my sisters weren't perfect. And viewing them as perfect was unfair, because while we all had superpowers and were different from normal people, we were still human. We were bound to make mistakes and second-guess ourselves. To think that Blossom and Bubbles never made a mistake or tripped or did anything to embarrass themselves was stupid. We all make mistakes, and as embarrassing as they may be, the key is to learn from them. Life isn't about being perfect; it's a learning process and tripping a few times along the way doesn't make you any less of a person, it just makes you human.

"You guys are right," I said. "I'm really glad I told you."

Both sisters came over and hugged me tightly.

"I'm glad you told us, too," Blossom said. "Because now if you ever feel upset, we can help you."

"And it's the perfect excuse for us to have a girls' night in!" Bubbles gushed. "We'll watch all your favorite movies with you and we'll paint each other's nails and we'll make sure you feel good as new after we do each other's hair! And if you still don't feel too happy, we'll stay with you and try to cheer you up any way we can!"

Blossom eventually broke away to check on the water she was boiling and Bubbles pulled out some homework to work on. As I sat there and watched my sisters, I couldn't help but feel like I would be okay. I would have more bad days, there was no doubt about that, but at least now I knew I could count on my sisters for help if I needed them.

* * *

**If there are any of you who feel I'm using the terms 'depression', 'social anxiety', and 'anxiety' too loosely in this story, as if they are normal everyday problems that everyone has that are easily fixable, I'm not. Those three things are something I have and deal with on a regular basis, so I know what they are and how they effect daily life. While a lot of people do suffer from forms of anxiety and depression, some people are lucky and don't have to deal with these things. Anxiety and depression are very real and are difficult to deal with, but it IS possible to manage them. Just a little FYI :)**


	17. Chapter 17

**Hey guys, I'm still alive! I just managed to climb out from under a mountain of homework from school lol my semester began and while college is pretty sweet, my classes are piling on the papers. Anyway, just to let you guys know, I'm still here and I will try to keep up with updates, but if I don't update right away, don't worry, I haven't given up on this story; I'm just swamped with work. :)**

**I hope you guys enjoy this chapter. I had half of it finished when I opened the document and figured 'why not finish it and upload it?' I know it's much shorter than previous chapters, but trust me, there are more updates to come.**

**To Pdnsassy: Keep your head up; it's hard, but you'll get through it :) Thank you for your kind review!**

**To 4EyesBrownEyes: My definition of depression is bound to be different from other people's interpretations of it. I'm sorry that she's going through that and I hope she gets her phone back soon, but I don't think my definition of depression is off, but rather just a different interpretation.**

**To Junior Mints: thanks! :)**

**To ZangaAndPathFinder: glad you're enjoying it so far :D**

**To frannyfine29: exactly! :)**

**To MusicMusketeer: That's true, but that's also how I was trying to paint them. They're her sisters and while they are rather normal compared to Buttercup, they have their own issues too and aren't perfect. You know?**

**I don't own the Powerpuff Girls.**

* * *

**.17.**

"So, how did it go?" Butch asked.

We were sitting in our park and it was somewhere around one in the morning. After my sisters had fallen asleep, I tossed and turned for a bit before heading to the park. I was surprised to find that Butch was there waiting for me.

"They accepted it and they didn't turn me away like I thought they would," I replied. Butch smiled and reached over to take my hand, interlacing his fingers with mine.

"That's good. You shouldn't have to go through all of this alone, Buttercup; you have many people who care about you and want to see you do well, not suffer in silence."

That was true; I had my sisters, the Professor, and I had Butch.

If it wasn't for Butch, I would never have told my sisters about my depression. I wouldn't have been able to get through these past couple of weeks without his support, and he had showed me what it was like to have a real friend, one who actually cared about me and wanted to hang out with me.

"Thank you," I said, breaking the soft silence. The night was quite chilly, as the start of November was merely three days away, but I couldn't feel the cold. Butch's hand was warm, as were his eyes and his smile, and that was all the warmth I needed.

Those emerald eyes flickered towards my face. "For what?"

"For being there when other people weren't. My sisters could have been, but they didn't know, and you can't really help someone if they won't let you in. But... I guess why I'm saying thank you is because instead of being a friend, you could have ignored me like everyone else has. But you've been so nice to me and you've shown me what it's like to have a friend. So... thank you."

Butch blinked, his face blank for once. Slight embarrassment colored my face and I looked down.

Why did I say that? While Butch was my friend, we were still supposed to be tough. Bubbles and Boomer were the ones who were sweet and mushy, not me and Butch.

"Things are different now," Butch replied, turning his gaze up to the moon. "When we were kids, I didn't like you because you were a girl. You had cooties. I didn't want any part of that, so I faked hatred to cover up the fact that I was curious about you. I'm not saying I liked you or had a crush on you or anything; I just didn't know who you were, but I knew that we were very similar to each other. You liked playing with trucks, I liked playing with trucks. I liked playing in the mud and you did, too. When things settled down a bit and I turned thirteen, I stopped disliking you because you were a girl and started to wonder what it'd be like to talk to you. I wasn't sure if you'd be all girly and glued to your phone texting boys or if you'd still be the tomboy who climbed trees just for the heck of it."

"I was definitely the tomboy," I replied, cracking a smirk. "Still am, too."

Butch laughed. "Well, I know that now, but at the time, I wasn't sure. People change when they grow up. Sometimes tomboys become girly-girls and vice versa."

I nodded. A lot of people I knew as a kid had changed drastically. Who knew Mitch Mitchelson would ever become a player? And who knew Robin Snyder would become a genius like Blossom?

"I'm glad we're not enemies anymore," I said.

Butch smiled. "Me too."

* * *

I woke up the next morning feeling a lot better than I had yesterday.

By the time I had finished cleaning myself up in the bathroom, Bubbles and Blossom were already downstairs and ready to go.

Blossom was writing something in a notebook while the blonde chattered on and on about the upcoming football game and how she couldn't wait to get out there and cheer her heart out.

When I entered the room, Blossom looked up and smiled.

"Hey."

"What's up?" I asked.

"You okay today?"

I nodded.

"Glad to hear it. Everyone all set?"

Bubbles and I followed her out to the car, Bubbles taking the passenger's seat while I sat in the back. The car ride to school was comfortable; even though the three of us were quiet, there was a feeling in that air that everything was and would be okay.

School wasn't exactly fun, but lunch was actually great for once.

Instead of sitting with their friends, Blossom and Bubbles sat at an empty table and beckoned me over once I'd gotten my lunch. Many people whispered and wondered why the beautiful Bubbles and the all-knowing Blossom Utonium were sitting with the black-haired nobody, aka me, instead of their respective groups, but for once, none of that mattered to me; I barely even realized there was noise around me.

When the final bell rang and everyone was retrieving their belongings to go home, I felt more alive than I had in years.

I was beginning to heal. I was a long way away from normal, but it was a start.


End file.
